CASTING  OF  NirS 


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BY  RICHARD  BAGOT 


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CASTING  OF  NETS 


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By  RICHARD    BAGOT 

'Author  of  <  A  Roman  Mystery  y"    *  The  Just  and  the  Unjust ' 

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JOHN    LANE  : 
LONDON     A 

THE   BODLEY    HEAD 
ND     NEW     YORK 

I  9  o  I 

Copyright,  igoi 

By   John    Lane 

All  rights  reserved 


•       •    < 


UNIVERSITY    PRESS     •    JOHN    WILSON 
AND    SON,    CAMBRIDGE,   U.S.A. 


Casting  of  Nets 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  clock  oil  the  church  tower  at  Abbotsbury  was 
striking  six.  A  hot  day  in  early  July  was  draw- 
ing to  its  close,  and  long  shadows  were  beginning  to  creep 
across  the  churcliyard,  while  from  the  meadows  beyond 
came  the  scent  of  newly-mown  hay,  the  screaming  of 
swifts,  and  the  querulous  croaking  of  disturbed  corn-crakes 
driven  from  their  nests  by  the  ruthless  scythes  of  the 
haymakers. 

The  Rev.  James  Russell,  Rector  of  Abbotsbury,  passed 
through  the  lych-gate  into  the  churchyard,  removing  his 
black  felt  hat  and  wiping  his  brow  with  a  silk  pocket- 
handkerchief  as  he  paused  in  the  refreshing  shade  of  the 
elm-trees. 

He  had  been  visiting  a  sick  woman  who  lived  in  a 
farm  on  the  outskirts  of  his  straggling  parish,  and  the 
sun  had  blazed  fiercely  in  his  face  during  his  three-mile 
walk  homewards. 

Mr.  Russell  looked  across  the  meadows  which  sloped 
down  from  beyond  the  sunken  fence  of  the  churchyard 
to  the  river  Trent  stealing  quietly  through  the  valley 
some  half  a  mile  away.  The  evening  breeze  rippled  and 
shivered  through  the  patches  of  grass  as  yet  uncut,  and 
the  Rector  lingered  for  a  space,  enjoying  the  quiet  pas- 

1 

434871 


2  •.  :;C-AST;I:NGr,.  O'F    NETS 

toral  beauty  of  the  scene,  and  glancing,  too,  with  a  cer- 
tain satisfaction  at  the  heavy  crop  of  hay,  a  considerable 
portion  of  which  was  on  his  own  glebe-land. 

Suddenly  the  look  of  tranquil  content  upon  his  features 
changed,  to  be  replaced  by  one  of  impatience,  almost  of 
annoyance. 

From  a  mass  of  gray  buildings  beyond  the  river,  just 
discernible  among  the  trees  surrounding  it,  the  deep  tone 
of  a  single  bell  floated  up  with  the  breeze. 

One  —  two  —  three;  one  —  two  —  three;  one  —  two  — 
three  ;  and  then  a  longer  pause,  and  nine  strokes,  repeated 
at  equal  intervals. 

The  Rector  of  Abbotsbury  listened,  and  his  face  wore 
the  expression  of  one  who  wakes  from  a  pleasant  dream 
to  find  himself  confronted  by  an  unpleasant  reality. 

*  The  AngeluSj  he  said  to  himself,  lialf  aloud  ;  and  then 
he  turned  and  continued  his  walk  through  the  church- 
yard, and  passed  through  a  little  gate  which  led  into  the 
Rectory  garden.  The  Rectory  at  Abbotsbury  was  a  pleas- 
ant abode  enough.  The  house,  indeed,  more  resembled 
the  residence  of  a  country  squire  than  that  of  a  clergyman. 
The  solid,  square  building  stood  above  a  terraced  garden 
looking  over  the  Valley  of  the  Trent  and  across  a  rich 
agricultural  country  to  the  heather-clad  ridge  of  Cannock 
Chase  on  the  opposite  horizon.  The  interior  of  the  house 
was  entirely  oak-panelled,  the  rooms  spacious  and  well 
furnished.  Everything  at  Abbotsbury  Rectory  bore  silent 
but  unmistakable  testimony  to  the  fact  of  Abbotsbury 
being  a  good,  solid  family  living,  which  had  been  enjoyed 
by  respectable  younger  sons  for  many  generations.  Be- 
hind the  house  and  garden  rose  groups  of  noble  trees. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  3 

with  here  and  there  a  venerable  oak  standing  majestically 
apart  from  its  fellows.  Beneath  spreading  branches,  still 
green  with  the  midsummer  shoots,  could  be  caught  glimpses 
of  undulating  park-land,  where  shorthorns  and  Alderncys 
were  feeding  knee-deep  in  the  luxuriant  herbage,  and  be- 
yond were  great  woods  stretching  away  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  see. 

Abbotsbury  possessed  the  evident  stamp  of  being  the 
ancient  abode  of  au  ancient  family,  and  the  Rectory,  which 
lay  just  beyond  the  grounds  surrounding  the  big  house,  was, 
as  it  were,  an  inseparable  part  of  the  Abbotsbury  domain. 

The  Redmans  of  Abbotsbury  had  lived  on  their  own 
lands  since  Saxon  times,  and  when  Sir  Walter  Redman 
accepted  a  peerage  from  George  III.  in  the  early  years 
of  that  monarch's  reign,  and  became  known  by  the  style 
and  title  of  Baron  Redman,  of  Redman's  Cross,  in  the 
county  of  Stafford,  the  general  impression  in  Staffordshire 
was  that  he  conferred  a  favour  on  his  Sovereign  and  his 
country  by  condescending  to  enter  the  Upper  House. 
Redman's  Cross,  which  gave  the  family  its  title,  was  the 
original  dwelling-place  of  the  race,  the  Redman  of  the 
day  having  somewhere  far  back  in  the  fourteenth  century 
married  the  heiress  of  Abbotsbury,  after  which  they  moved 
their  residence  to  the  latter  place.  Redman's  Cross  fell  in- 
to ruin  in  the  midst  of  the  wild  chase  surrounding  it,  where 
herds  of  deer  wandered  at  will  through  its  forest  glades 
and  among  the  mighty  oak-trees  for  which  it  had  been 
famous  even  in  Norman  times.  The  present  Rector  of 
Abbotsbury  was  the  first  for  many  years  to  hold  that 
office  who  was  not  a  Redman  by  birth.  From  time  im- 
memorial the  charge   of  souls  at  Abbotsbury  had  been 


4  CASTING    OF    NETS 

committed  to  a  younger  son  of  the  great  house,  and 
when  the  Rev.  James  Russell  was  appointed  to  the  liv- 
ing on  the  death  of  the  old  Rector,  the  villagers,  who  had 
been  accustomed  for  generations  to  be  christened,  married, 
and  buried  by  a  Redman,  had  been  inclined  to  resent  Mr. 
Russell's  ministration  as  an  impertinent  intrusion  of  a 
stranger  into  their  domestic  affairs. 

There  had  been  no  Redman,  however,  to  succeed  to 
the  Honourable  and  Reverend  Richard,  the  late  Lord 
Redman's  brother,  who  had  held  the  living  for  nearly 
forty  years,  when  he  died  from  a  chill  caught  while  fish- 
ing for  grayling  on  a  treacherous  day  of  mid- winter;  so 
his  nephew,  the  present  peer,  had  bestowed  it  upon  James 
Russell,  his  second  cousin  by  marriage. 

The  latter  was  eminently  fitted,  so  far  as  presence  and 
natural  taste  were  concerned,  to  live  in  the  stately,  oak- 
panelled  Rectory-house,  which  bore  about  it  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  old-fashioned  Tory  and  High-Church  principles 
of  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  As  he  walked 
across  the  lawn  from  the  churchyard  gate,  and  slowly 
ascended  the  broad  flight  of  gray  stone  steps  flanked  by 
vases  of  scarlet  geranium  and  blue  lobelia  which  led  to 
the  terrace  above,  Mr.  Russell  presented  a  typical  example 
of  a  well-bred  and  well-educated  English  clergyman. 

He  was  about  to  enter  his  own  study  by  the  large  bay- 
window  which  opened  on  to  the  garden,  when  his  wife 
called  to  him  from  beneath  the  trees  at  the  further  end 
of  the  terrace. 

'James,'  she  cried,  Hea  is  out  here.  How  late  you 
are!     I  will  send  for  some  fresh  tea  for  you.' 

The  Rector  turned,  and  went  to  where  a  tea-table  and 


CASTING    OF    NETS  5 

sonic  gardcu-chairs  were  placed  bcucath  an  old  chestnut- 
tree. 

*  Yes,  I  am  late/  he  replied,  taking  one  of  the  chairs 
and  drawing  it  nearer  the  table.  '  Mrs.  Clutterbuck  is 
very  bad ;  she  won't  last  out  the  night,  I  think.  1  have 
been  with  her  all  the  afternoon.' 

*  Poor  thing ! '  said  Mrs.  Kussell,  looking  critically  at 
the  tea  she  was  pouring  out.  '  No,  James  ;  this  tea  is 
much  too  strong.  You  know  strong  tea  always  gives 
you  indigestion.  I  will  go  and  ring  for  George  to  bring 
some  more.' 

'  Do,'  replied  the  Vicar  ;  '  it  was  very  hot  walking  back 
from  Clutterbuck's  farm.  A  cup  of  tea  is  just  what  I 
want.  Ah!  here  are  the  papers.  Let  us  see  what  the 
Times  says.' 

He  opened  the  newspaper  as  his  wife  disappeared  into 
the  house,  and  settled  himself  down  to  glance  over  its 
contents. 

Presently  he  gave  an  exclamation  of  astonishment  and 
dismay.  A  short  paragraph  of  two  or  three  lines  among 
the  personal  intelligence  in  the  Times  had  caught  his 
eye. 

^  xi  marriage  ^vill  shortly  take  place  between  Lord  Red- 
man and  Hilda,  daughter  of  Lady  Gwendolen  and  the  late 
Mr.  Ca warden,  of  Cawarden.' 

'  Mary '  —  Mr.  Russell  called  out  excitedly  to  his  wife 
— '  Mary,  never  mind  the  tea ;  come  here  at  once  !  What 
do  you  think  has  happened? ' 

Mrs.  Russell  heard  him  from  the  drawing-room  window, 
where  she  was  giving  directions  to  the  butler,  and  came 
leisurely  along  the  terrace. 


6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  What  do  you  think  has  happened  ? '  he  repeated,  as 
she  apj)roachcd  him. 

*  I  don't  know.  ^  What  ?     Another  ritual  scandal  ? '  she 

asked. 

'  Worse  than  that/  replied  tlie  Rector  —  *  a  great  deal 
worse  than  that.  Read  that  announcement/  he  added, 
handing  her  the  newspaper. 

Mrs.  Russell's  face  assumed  a  look  of  lively  interest  as 
she  read  the  paragraph. 

'  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  James,'  she  said,  after 
a  pause  ;  ^  I  should  think  it  was  an  excellent  thing.  Red- 
man ought  to  have  married  a  long  time  ago.' 

'  An  excellent  thing ! '  exclaimed  her  husband ;  *  it  is 
a  terrible  thing  —  a  —  an  abominable  thing  ! ' 

^  Why  ?  Is  Miss  Cawarden  not  —  not  a  nice  person  ? 
It  is  a  good  name.  I  have  often  heard  of  the  Ca wardens 
of  Cawarden.' 

'  It  is  a  good  name  enough,'  said  Mr.  Russell  irritably 
—  *as  good  as  Redman,  if  it  comes  to  that  —  but  the 
Cawardens  are  Roman  Catholics.' 

Mrs.  Russell  looked  genuinely  shocked. 

'Romanists!'  she  exclaimed.  '  Oh,  James,  no  wonder 
you  said  it  was  a  terrible  thing  !  It  should  be  stopped,' 
she  continued.     '  Can't  it  be  stopped,  James  ? ' 

'  My  dear  Mary,'  the  Rector  replied,  '  Redman  is  old 
enough  to  know  his  own  mind,  and  nobody  has  any  right 
to  interfere.  They  are  everywhere,'  he  added,  a  little 
irrelevantly  ;  and  he  looked  beyond  the  churchyard  to 
the  spot  in  the  valley  where  the  Angelus  had  rung  a 
short  time  before. 

'What  can  have  induced  him  to  do  it?'  said   Mrs. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  7 

Russell.  *  Poor  dear  Walter ! '  she  eontinued,  with  a 
little  sigh,  *  this  is  what  comes  of  having  no  religi(jn. 
If  he  had  only  been  a  good  Churchman,  he  could  never 
have  done  such  a  thing.  But  I  don't  think  he  believes 
in  anything.  One  good  thing  is,  that  he  is  all  the  less 
likely  to  be  perverted  by  his  wife.' 

The  Rector  looked  anmsed  for  a  moment.  Of  the  two 
Mrs.  Russell  was  the  stauncher  Protestant. 

*  I  don't  know  that  we  ought  to  call  it  perversion  if  she 
makes  him  a  believer  in  something,'  he  said  mildly. 

^  Think  of  Abbotsbury  falling  into  the  hands  of  Roman- 
ists !  Of  course  it  is  very  sad  that  Walter  should  be  so 
indifferent  to  religion,  but  you  surely  would  n't  wish  him 
to  become  a  pervert  to  Rome,  James  ?  ' 

^  Abbotsbury  will  probably  fall  into  the  hands  of  Roman 
Catholics  whether  he  does  or  not,'  remarked  Mr.  Russell. 
*  He  will  have  to  consent  to  his  children  being  brought  up 
in  his  wife's  religion,  otherwise  the  Roman  Church  will 
not  allow  the  marriao:e.' 

*  It  is  perfectly  monstrous  I '  exclaimed  his  wife  ;  *  they 
treat  us  as  if  we  were  heathens.' 

'It  is  the  inflexible  spirit  of  Roman  Catholicism,'  re- 
turned the  Rector.  'After  all,'  he  added,  with  a  sigh, 
'their  attitude  is  logical  —  more  so,  perhaps,  than  our 
own.' 

'  Arrogance,  I  call  it,  not  logic' 

Mr.  Russell  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

'  I  think  it  is  logical/  he  replied.  '  At  all  events,  they 
stick  to  their  position,  which  is  more  than  we  are  able 
to  do  to  ours.' 

'It  will  be  a  very  unpleasant  situation  for  us,'   said 


8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Mrs.  Russell.      1   suppose  that  Lady   Redman   will  ig- 
nore us.' 

'  She  can  scarcely  do  that,  my  dear.' 

*0h,  I  don't  mean  socially,  of  course;  but  she  will 
ignore  your  position  as  Rector  of  Abbotsbury.  It  is  enough 
to  have  that  monastery  in  the  parish,  but  now  that  there 

is  to  be  a  Romanist  reigning  at  the  Hall '  and  the 

Rector's  wife  paused  expressively. 

^  Perhaps,'  remarked  her  husband, '  Miss  Cawarden  may 
be  a  tolerant  person.  She  can't  help  having  been  born  a 
Roman  Catholic.  Indeed,  having  been  born  one,  she  is 
far  more  likely  to  be  broad-minded  than  if  she  were  a 
con  —  a  pervert.* 

^  She  will  want  to  turn  her  husband,'  said  Mrs.  Russell, 
^  and  she  will  not  be  pleased  at  finding  an  Anglican  priest 
at  her  very  door.  Mark  my  words,  James,  it  will  be  a 
very  disagreeable  position  for  us.' 

A  servant  brought  some  fresh  tea,  and  the  Rector 
poured  himself  out  a  cup  of  it. 

'  You  could  n't  blame  her  for  wanting  her  husband  to 
belong  to  her  faith,'  he  said  presently. 

^N—no,'  answered  Mrs.  Russell  doubtfully;  'I  sup- 
pose not.  But  it  would  be  much  better  if  Walter  con- 
verted her  to  his  own ' 

'  But  if  he  has  none  ? ' 

'  Oh,  you  know  what  I  mean,  James,'  said  Mrs.  Russell 
a  little  impatiently.  '  Walter  is  nominally  a  member  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  of  course  his  wife  should  be 
so  too.  Who  knows  ? '  she  added  hopefully.  '  Perhaps 
she  will  become  one.' 

The  Rector  shook  his  head. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  9 

'  Very  few  people  leave  Rome  for  Canterbury  and  Down- 
ing Street  —  women  especially,'  he  remarked.  'Besides, 
who  is  to  convert  her  ?     Not  her  husband,  certainly.' 

*  You ! '  said  Mrs.  Russell  triumphantly. 

^  ?     My  dear  Mary ! ' 

'Certainly.  You  are  the  priest  of  her  future  hus- 
band's parish,  where  she  will  be  in  the  position  of  a 
dissenter.' 

'  There  are  a  good  many  of  them  in  my  parish,'  muttered 
Mr.  Russell,  thinking  of  the  Dominican  Fathers  and  their 
monastery  in  the  valley  near  by. 

'  It  does  n't  say  when  the  marriage  is  going  to  be,'  said 
Mrs.  Russell,  glancing  again  at  the  Times. 

'  It  will  be  very  soon,  I  should  imagine.  We  are  only 
at  the  beginning  of  July.  Probably  they  will  be  married 
at  the  end  of  the  London  season,  and  we  shall  have  them 
here  in  the  autumn,  after  the  honeymoon.' 

'  And  then,'  said  Mrs.  Russell,  '  you  will  have  to  begin 
to  prepare  the  ground  for  the  conversion.' 

The  Rector  of  Abbotsbury  made  no  reply,  but  took  up 
the  newspaper.  The  news  of  Lord  Redman's  engagement 
to  a  Roman  Catholic  had  disturbed  him  more  than  he 
cared  to  admit,  and  for  the  moment  he  did  not  wish  to 
discuss  the  subject  any  further,  least  of  all  with  his  wife. 


CHAPTER  II 

'  "m  ^  Y  dear  Lady  Gwendolen,  let  me  assure  you  that  I 
W\  am  making  absolutely  no  sacrifice  in  accepting 
tlie  conditions  imposed  by  your  Church  with  regard  to  my 
marriage  with  Hilda.  I  quite  understand  that  many  men 
—  most  men,  perhaps,  in  my  position  —  would  feel  differ- 
ently upon  the  subject.  To  me  it  is  a  matter  of  complete 
unconcern.' 

The  speaker  was  Lord  Redman,  and  the  three  people 
who  listened  to  his  words  tried  to  look  shocked. 

'  You  are  at  least  candid  in  your  opinions.  Lord  Red- 
man,' said  one  of  the  three,  an  elderly  man  with  iron-gray 
hair,  who  might  have  passed  for  a  retired  cavalry  officer 
had  it  not  been  for  his  priestly  attire. 

He  spoke  in  a  harsh  and  curiously  abrupt  voice,  and  his 
keen,  dark  eyes  looked  searchingly  at  Lord  Redman  as  he 
made  the  remark. 

The  latter  returned  his  gaze  tranquilly,  almost  indiffer- 
ently. 

'Do  you  think  so,  Mr.  Galsworthy?'  he  replied.  'I 
am  afraid  that  you  are  wrong  there.  I  have  no  opinions, 
as  you  would  call  them,  or  prejudices,  as  I  should  call  them, 
on  matters  concerning  the  religious  belief  of  others.' 

'But  you  have  your  personal  opinions  —  or  prejudices?' 

'  Possibly  ;  but  they  are  purely  negative.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  ii 

'  That  is  a  very  uiiliappy  state  of  mind  to  be  in,'  said  the 
priest  gravely. 

as  it  ? ' 

Father  Galsworthy  looked  disconcerted  for  a  moment, 
and  then  he  laughed. 

^  I  am  afraid  that  you  are  the  most  dangerous  kind  of 
Protestant/  he  replied. 

^  Because  I  do  not  protest  ? ' 

^  Precisely.' 

At  this  moment  Lady  Gwendolen  Cawarden's  mother, 
Lady  Merton,  interposed. 

Lady  Merton  bore  the  traces  of  considerable  beauty,  and 
looked  many  years  younger  than  her  age.  She  had  joined 
the  Roman  Church  late  in  life,  and  had  acquired  for  her- 
self an  almost  unique  position  among  her  co-religionists  in 
England.  The  number  of  converts  she  had  brought  into 
the  Church,  and  through  the  Church  into  Catholic  society, 
was  very  large,  for  experience  taught  her  that  if  crowns 
were  eagerly  sought  after  in  the  next  state  of  life,  coronets 
were  not  less  so  in  this.  So  Lady  Merton,  girded  with 
piety  and  her  peerage,  had  been  a  more  than  usually  suc- 
cessful proselytizer,  and  considered  that  she  had  been  the 
means  of  launching  many  of  her  fellow-creatures  into  the 
good  society  of  both  this  world  and  the  world  to  come. 
Of  all  her  children,  the  youngest,  Lady  Gwendolen  Ca- 
warden,  was  the  only  one  who  followed  their  mother  to 
Rome.  The  others  had  been  more  or  less  grown  up  when 
Lady  Merton  became  a  convert  to  Catholicism,  and  had 
declined  to  be  convinced  by  her  arguments. 

'  I  am  sure,'  said  Lady  Merton,  looking  at  her  daughter, 
'that   dear   Hilda's    example   will   cause    her   husband's 


12  CASTING    OF    NETS 

tlioughts  to  turn  towards  the  Church.  I  do  not  agree 
with  Father  Galsworthy.  An  unprejudiced  mind  like 
Lord  Redman's  is  far  more  likely  to  receive  the  truth  than 
one  which  has  to  rid  itself  of  Protestant  falsehood  con- 
cerning our  holy  religion.  I  speak  from  personal  experi- 
ence, you  know,'  she  added,  with  a  little  sigh,  turning  to 
her  future  grandson-in-law ;  *  for  I  had  many  mental 
struggles  to  pass  through  before  grace  to  see  the  light  was 
vouchsafed  to  me.' 

Lady  Merton's  voice  was  soft  and  purring,  and  she 
prided  herself  upon  being  able  to  throw  the  most  persua- 
sive tones  into  it  when  necessary.  Lord  Redman  listened 
politely,  but  he  made  no  reply,  and  Lady  Gwendolen,  who 
had  maintained  a  discreet  silence  during  the  conversa- 
tion, looked  at  her  spiritual  adviser.  Father  Galsworthy, 
as  though  expecting  him  to  conclude  the  matter  under 
discussion. 

The  latter  nodded  his  head  appreciatively  as  Lady  Mer- 
ton  finished  speaking. 

'  No  doubt  Lady  Merton  is  perfectly  right,'  he  remarked. 
'As  she  says,  she  has  an  experience  which  is  denied  to 
those  who,  like  myself,  have  been  born  within  the  fold  of 
the  Church.  It  is  an  experience,  moreover,  of  which,  as 
we  all  know,  she  has  made  the  best  use.' 

If  she  had  been  a  cat  Lady  Merton  would  have  rubbed 
herself  against  the  ecclesiastical  legs ;  as  it  was,  she  only 
purred  a  modest  disclaimer. 

'I  do  not  think,'  continued  Father  Galsworthy,  'that 
there  is  any  more  to  be  said.  Lord  Redman  appears  to  be 
fully  aware  of  the  conditions  which  the  Church  imposes 
in  the  case  of  what  is  termed  a  mixed   marriage.     No 


CASTING    OF    NETS  13 

other  religious  ceremony  save  that  of  the  Roman  Church 
is  permissible  ;  and  Lord  Redman  must  give  his  solemn 
undertaking  that  any  children  born  of  his  marriage  shall 
be  brought  up  in  the  Holy  Catholic,  Apostolic,  and  Roman 
religion.  I  understand  that  he  is  prepared  to  accept  these 
conditions  unreservedly,  and  also  to  promise  that  Miss 
Cawarden,  after  she  has  become  his  wife,  shall  have  full 
liberty  to  exercise  and  practise  her  religion  as  her  con- 
science and  the  precepts  of  the  Church  shall  demand.' 

Lord  Redman  bowed. 

'  I  have  already  said,'  he  replied,  '  that  these  matters 
are  comparatively  unimportant  to  me.  I  respect  all  re- 
ligions, and  that  of  my  wife  would  have  the  first  claim  to 
my  respect.  I  hope,  Mr.  Galsworthy,  that  I  have  made 
my  meaning  clear  ?  " 

The  Oratorian  looked  at  him. 

*  Yes,'  he  said  in  his  abrupt  manner,  '  I  think  you  have. 
But  you  must  pardon  me  if  I  say  that  I  would  rather  you 
did  not  shelter  yourself  behind  indifference.' 

^  It  is  a  very  good  shield,'  said  Lord  Redman,  with  a 
slight  smile. 

'  I  admit  it  —  so  long  as  you  feel  you  need  a  sliield. 
It  is  the  hardest  of  all  to  penetrate.  But  supposing 
the  day  should  come,  after  you  had  been  married  some 
time,  when  you  felt  that  you  no  longer  needed  such 
a  shield  —  when  your  indifference  broke  down,  so  to 
speak ' 

'  Yes  ? '  said  Lord  Redman  interrogatively. 

'  The  promises  which  appear  to  you  to  be  so  easy  to 
give  in  your  present  frame  of  mind  might  not  be  so  easy 
to  fulfil,'  continued  Father  Galsworthy. 


14  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Lady  Merton  intervened  once  more. 

*  Dear  Father  Galsworthy,'  she  said  gently,  ^  I  do  not 
wish  to  interfere  with  your  objections,  but  do  you  not 
think  that  we  are  taking  too  much  upon  ourselves  in  thus 
striving  to  look  into  the  future  ?  Lord  Redman's  scepti- 
cism may  vanish  —  that  is  perfectly  true.  But  may  it 
not  be  that  it  shall  vanish  in  answer  to  our  prayers  for 
his  enlightenment  ?     St.  Joseph ' 

*Was  a  carpenter,'  interposed  Lord  Redman,  smiling. 
'  I  do  not  think  we  need  bring  him  into  the  question,'  he 
added,  holding  out  his  hand  to  Lady  Gwendolen.  '  Mr. 
Galsworthy  will,  no  doubt,  report  to  the  proper  quarters 
that  I  am  prepared  unreservedly  to  accept  the  conditions 
imposed  by  the  Church.  I  only  ask  for  myself  the  same 
liberty  of  conscience  which  I  engage  to  give  to  my  future 
wife.  To-morrow  morning,  then,  I  will  come  for  Hilda,' 
he  added,  shaking  hands  with  the  remainder  of  the  little 
party  assembled  in  the  drawing-room  of  the  Cawardens' 
house  in  Eaton  Square ;  *  we  are  going  to  do  some  shop- 
ping together.' 

'  And  you  will  come  back  to  luncheon  ? '  said  Lady 
Gwendolen. 

'  Thanks,  yes.  To-morrow,  then,  at  eleven  o'clock. 
Will  you  tell  Hilda  ? '  and  so  saying.  Lord  Redman  left 
the  room. 

Father  Galsworthy  took  his  departure  a  few  minutes 
afterwards,  leaving  Lady  Gwendolen  and  her  mother  alone 
together. 

^  A  very  holy  man,  Gwen  dear,'  said  Lady  Merton  when 
the  drawing-room  door  had  closed  upon  the  priest,  ^  but 
not  a  man  of  the  world.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  15 

'  Who  —  Father  Galsworthy  ?  ' 

*  Certainly.  I  was  not  alluding  to  Redman.  I  was  on 
thorns  lest  he  should  spoil  the  whole  thing.  Anybody 
could  have  seen  that  Redman  was  getting  very  impatient ; 
he  wouldn't  have  taken  me  up  about  St.  Joseph  if  he 
was  n't.' 

'  He  only  said  that  St.  Joseph  was  a  carpenter,'  observed 
Lady  Gwendolen. 

'  Very  true,'  replied  Lady  Merton  — '  so  he  was  ;  but 
it  is  not  good  taste  to  allude  to  the  fact.  That  young 
man  can  say  some  very  satirical  things  sometimes,'  she 
added.  '  I  do  hope  poor  dear  Hilda  will  be  happy  with 
him.' 

'You  should  have  thought  of  that  before,  mamma/ 
remarked  her  daughter.  '  The  marriage  has  been  more 
of  your  making  than  of  mine.  I  confess  that  I  am  full  of 
uneasiness  at  the  thought  of  Hilda  marrying  a  Protestant.* 

Lady  Merton  gave  her  a  little  sidelong  glance. 

'  Tliey  are  very  fond  of  one  another,*  she  said.  '  For 
all  we  know,  Hilda  may  be  the  chosen  instrument  to 
bring  Redman  into  the  Church.  It  would  have  been  most 
rash  to  place  any  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  marriage. 
Think,  Gwen,  what  an  acquisition  Redman  would  be  to 
the  Faith  in  England  I  A  peer,  and  rich  —  a  man,  too, 
who  has  generally  been  considered  almost  an  agnostic  — 
why,  his  conversion  would  be  followed  by  hundreds  of 
others  in  the  country.  And  then  the  joy  it  would  be  to 
us  all  to  think  that  Hilda  had  been  the  means  of  saving 
his  soul !  *  concluded  Lady  Merton,  drawing  the  beads  of 
a  little  ebony  and  gold  rosary,  which  hung  at  her  waist, 
through  her  hands  as  she  spoke.     '  Oh  no,  my  dear  Gwen,* 


i6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

she  continued,  '  I  do  not  think  you  need  be  uneasy.  If 
Redman  had  pronounced  Protestant  convictions,  I  quite 
grant  you  that  it  might  be  different ;  but  he  has  n't.  His 
mind  is  virgin  soil,  my  dear  —  virgin  soil,'  repeated  Lady 
Merton,  who,  as  an  authoress  of  pious  works,  dearly  loved 

a  simile. 

'  I  am  not  thinking  of  his  mind,'  returned  Lady  Gwen- 
dolen Cawarden ;  '  I  am  thinking  of  Hilda's.  She  is  so 
young  and  inexperienced,  and  has  never  been  brought  into 
contact  even  with  Protestants,  let  alone  agnostics.' 

*  But  she  knows  that  Redman  does  n't  believe  in  any- 
thing ! '  said  Lady  Merton. 

'  She  knows  it  from  me  and  from  Father  Galsworthy.* 

*  Not  from  Redman  ? ' 

^  I  asked  her  if  he  ever  talked  upon  those  subjects  to 
her.  It  appears  that,  after  he  had  asked  her  to  marry 
him,  he  once  told  her  he  had  no  faith  himself,  but  that 
he  should  never  say  or  do  anything  to  interfere  with  hers.' 

'  So  he  told  me,'  observed  Lady  Merton.  '  I  thought  it 
very  sensible  of  him.' 

'  Mamma !  * 

'  Certainly,  Gwen.  If  Hilda  is  to  marry  a  heretic,  she 
may  as  well  marry  an  out  and  out  one.  There  is  nothing 
so  unsatisfactory  as  a  Protestant ! ' 

^  She  need  n't  have  married  a  heretic  at  all,'  objected 
Lady  Gwendolen. 

'  No ;  she  might  have  married  one  of  our  Catholic  young 
men.  They  are  excellent  creatures — from  the  next  world's 
point  of  view  ;  and  we  are  all  delighted  when  our  friends' 
daughters  marry  them.' 

'  I  married  one.* 


CASTING    OF    NETS  17 

^  My  dear,  you  married  an  exception.  Poor  dear  Uoger 
was  a  parti  as  well  as  a  Catholic.  We  cannot  live  on 
"Hail  Marys,"  unfortunately.  That  is  what  priests  like 
P'ather  Galsworthy  do  not  understand.  Hilda  is  an  ex- 
tremely lucky  person.  She  is  marrying  a  rich  man,  with 
a  fine  place,  an  old  name,  and  no  objections.  I  really 
can't  imagine  what  you  and  Father  Galsworthy  are  afraid 
of.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  was  silent.  She  had  always  been 
a  little  frightened  at  her  mother,  and  her  own  marriage 
had  not  been  what  she  herself  would  have  chosen. 
Before  she  married  Roger  Cawardcn  she  had  been  very 
much  in  love  with  a  man  who,  as  Lady  Merton  put  it, 
could  never  have  supplied  her  with  anything  more  sub- 
stantial than  'Hail  Marys.'  Then  Mr.  Cawardcn  had 
come  forward,  and  Lady  Merton  had  taken  the  matter 
into  her  own  hands.  It  had  all  turned  out  very  well,  and 
in  after  life,  when  left  a  widow  with  a  good  jointure.  Lady 
Gwendolen  was  obliged  to  confess  that  her  mother  had 
acted  in  a  very  sensible  manner. 

Lady  Gwendolen,  however,  was  a  sincerely  earnest 
Catholic,  and  the  thought  that  her  daughter  was  about 
to  make  a  mixed  marriage  was  a  matter  which  caused  her 
genuine  uneasiness. 

She  felt  the  force  of  Father  Galswortliy's  objection, 
which  her  mother  had  feared  might  have  the  effect  of 
making  Lord  Redman  think  that  too  many  concessions 
were  going  to  be  demanded  of  him ;  and,  indeed,  when 
she  reminded  Lady  Merton  that  the  engagement  had  been 
largely  due  to  the  latter,  Lady  Gwendolen  had  only  spoken 
the  truth. 

2 


i8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Lady  Merton,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  had  done  all  in  her 
power  to  bring  about  an  alliance  between  her  grand- 
daughter and  Lord  Redman,  and  it  was  at  her  house  in 
the  country  that  the  two  had  first  met. 

It  had  not  been  an  easy  marriage  to  arrange,  notwith- 
standing that  Hilda  Cawarden  and  Lord  Redman  had 
fallen  very  satisfactorily  in  love  with  each  other,  and  that 
Lord  Redman  was  honestly  indifferent  as  to  what  Hilda's 
creed  might  be.  Lady  Gwendolen  would  not  hear  of  her 
daughter  marrying  a  Protestant.  No  Cawarden  of  Ca- 
warden had  ever  done  such  a  thing.  At  one  time  it  had 
looked  very  much  as  if  the  marriage  was  an  impossibility, 
and  had  it  not  been  that  the  young  couple  were  sincerely 
attached  to  each  other,  the  influence  brought  to  bear 
upon  Miss  Cawarden  would  probably  have  been  strong 
enough  to  cause  a  rupture  between  them.  It  was  at  this 
juncture  that  Lady  Merton's  pious  reputation  in  the 
Catholic  world  enabled  her  to  overcome  the  opposition  to 
a  marriage  of  which  her  worldly  instincts  thoroughly  ap- 
proved ;  and  Lord  Redman,  considerably  to  his  surprise, 
found  a  most  energetic  ally  where  he  had  expected  to  find 
a  determined  opponent. 

To  her  lay  and  ecclesiastical  friends  Lady  Merton 
described  Lord  Redman  as  a  rudderless  ship  driven  to 
and  fro  on  a  stormy  sea.  The  simile  was  by  no  means 
a  new  one,  and  she  had  herself  applied  it  indiscriminately 
in  her  writings  to  the  Church  of  England,  the  Old 
Catholics,  and  United  Italy.  In  this  instance  Hilda 
Cawarden  was  the  obvious  rudder  by  means  of  which 
Lord  Redman's  drifting  spiritual  barque  was  to  be  guided 
into  port.     It  had  cost  her  no  little  trouble  to  make  her 


CASTING    OF    NETS  19 

daughter  see  the  matter  in  the  same  light ;  and  Lady 
Gwendolen  had  said,  with  some  directness,  that  slie  didn't 
care  whetlier  Lord  Redman  drifted  into  port  or  not. 

Lady  Merton  had  expressed  herself  to  some  of  her 
particular  friends  among  the  higher  clergy  as  very  much 
shocked  at  this  deliberate  casting  away  of  an  opportunity 
to  save  a  perishing  soul,  and  most  of  them  agreed  with 
her. 

She  had  found  an  opponent,  however,  in  Father  Gals- 
worthy, whom  Lady  Gwendolen  was  in  the  habit  of  con- 
sulting on  spiritual  matters.  The  Oratorian  was  from  the 
first  absolutely  opposed  to  the  projected  marriage,  and 
he  used  all  his  influence  with  Lady  Gwendolen  to  make 
her  oppose  it  also.  Lady  Merton,  however,  had  found 
means,  if  not  to  gain  his  approval,  at  least  to  silence  his 
objections.  She  intended  that  Hilda  should  be  Lady 
Redman,  and  she  was  a  woman  w^ho  had  generally  suc- 
ceeded in  having  her  own  w^ay.  When  she  became  aware 
that  Father  Galsworthy's  influence  was  encouraging  Lady 
Gwendolen  in  her  opposition  to  Hilda's  engagement,  she 
betook  herself  to  his  ecclesiastical  superiors.  Whether 
Lord  Redman  \vould  have  been  altogether  pleased  at  the 
picture  w^hich  she  drew  of  him  to  the  latter  was  by  no  means 
certain.  According  to  Lady  Merton,  he  was  a  weary  and 
dissatisfied  soul,  knocking  at  the  door  of  the  Church  and 
only  needing  a  little  encouragement  to  enter  in  and  rest. 
She  had  told  Hilda  the  same  thing  so  often  that  the 
girl  believed  her,  and  love  added  a  fresh  strength  to  her 
determination  to  be  the  means  of  opening  the  doors  of 
belief  to  her  lover.  The  end  of  it  had  been  that  Father 
Galsworthy  received  a  hint,  from  a  quarter  which  he  dared 


20  CASTING    OF    NETS 

not  ignore,  to  allow  matters  to  take  their  natural  course 
and  to  do  nothing  either  to  promote  or  impede  Miss 
Cawarden's  marriage.  He  was  given  to  understand  that 
Lord  Redman  had  declared  his  readiness  to  accept  the 
terms  imposed  by  the  Church  in  England  in  the  case  of 
the  marriage  of  a  Catholic  with  a  person  beyond  its  pale, 
and  that,  therefore,  no  more  was  to  be  said. 

That  afternoon  in  Eaton  Square  Lord  Redman  had 
been  asked  by  Lady  Gwendolen  finally  to  promise,  in  the 
presence  of  Father  Galsworthy,  that  he  would  never 
in  any  way  interfere  with  her  daughter's  faith ;  that  no 
other  religious  ceremony  save  that  of  her  Church  should 
be  performed  at  the  marriage ;  and  that  all  the  children 
which  might  be  born  to  them  should  be  brought  up 
Catholics. 

Lord  Redman,  as  he  had  said  himself,  had  found  no 
difficulty  in  promising  each  and  all  of  these  things,  and 
two  or  three  days  afterwards  appeared  the  paragraph  in 
the  newspapers  which  had  so  greatly  exercised  the  minds 
of  the  Rector  of  Abbotsbury  and  his  wife. 

'  I  have  always  turned  out  right  in  these  matters,'  said 
Lady  Merton  complacently,  as  she  saw  that  her  daughter 
was  not  convinced.  ^  Redman  will  come  into  the  Church 
in  time,'  she  continued ;  '  but  even  if  he  does  n't,  think 
what  we  shall  have  gained.  Abbotsbury  will  be  another 
great  Catholic  house  in  the  country,  and  who  knows 
how  many  souls  may  be  saved  in  future  days  by  its 
influence.  It  would  have  been  a  terrible  responsibility  to 
incur,  Gwen,  to  have  disallowed  this  marriage,  and  I 
think  Father  Galsworthy  must  be  blind  not  to  see  it. 
But  then,  priests  cannot  be  expected  to  understand  our 


CASTING    OF    NETS  21 

world,  you  know.  May  I  have  the  carriage,  dear?  1  am 
going  to  Benediction  at  Farm  Street.  Do  you  know 
what  I  have  done?  Now  that  thuigs  are  ha{)i)ily  Hcttled 
I  will  tell  you.  I  have  written  to  Home,  to  dear  Mon- 
signor  Chester,  and  asked  him  to  get  permission  to  say 
Mass  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Peter's,  and  to  offer  it  for  Red- 
man's conversion.'  And  Lady  Merton  rustled  gracefully 
out  of  the  room,  her  rosary  and  little  gold  crucifix  clink- 
ing as  she  moved,  and  went  to  dress  for  her  drive  to 
Farm  Street. 


CHAPTER  III 

AS  Mr.  Russell  had  foreseen,  Lord  and  Lady  Redman 
came  to  Abbotsbury  early  in  September,  when  the 
first  breath  of  autumn  was  touching  the  fields  and  the 
hedgerows,  and  the  bryony  berries  were  beginning  to 
redden,  while  the  roses  and  the  honeysuckle  in  the  cottage 
gardens  had  given  place  to  the  more  gorgeous  colouring 
of  hollyhocks  and  gladioli,  and  scarlet  groups  of  '  red-hot 
poker.' 

Lord  and  Lady  Redman's  home-coming  had  been  a  very 
simple  affair.  Indeed,  they  had  arrived  late  in  the  even- 
ing at  Abbotsbury,  and  the  demonstrations  of  welcome  to 
the  bride  had  been  confined  to  the  ringing  cheers  of  a 
group  of  villagers  and  tenants  as  the  carriage  passed  into 
the  park  gates.  Lord  Redman  was  a  considerate  and 
popular  landlord,  and  the  Abbotsbury  people  were  glad  to 
feel  that  he  was  bringing  a  wife  among  them,  for  they  and 
theirs  for  many  generations  had  been  born,  and  lived,  and 
died  on  the  Redman  property. 

There  had  been,  it  must  be  confessed,  a  feeling  almost 
akin  to  dismay  when  it  became  known  that  Lord  Redman 
was  marrying  a  Roman  Catholic.  Abbotsbury  and  Rome 
had  not  had  much  opportunity  of  studying  each  other,  for 
very  few  of  the  Abbotsbury  folk  had  ever  penetrated 
beyond  the  high  stone  wall  surrounding  the  domain  of  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  23 

Doniiiiicaii  inonastery,  wliicli,  once  the  residence  of  an  old 
StafFordsbirc  family,  had  been  bought  by  the  Order  some 
ten  years  previously.  Occasionally  some  of  them  would 
go  out  of  curiosity  to  a  service  in  the  monastery  church  on 
a  Sunday  afternoon  in  summer,  but  they  returned  home 
more  perplexed  than  impressed  by  what  they  had  seen  and 
heard  there. 

If  the  monastic  establishment  at  iVbbotsbridge,  as  the 
spot  was  called  where  the  Dominican  Fathers  had  settled 
themselves,  was  something  of  a  mystery  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  neighbouring  village  of  Abbotsbury,  at  least  the 
latter  bore  no  ill-feeling  towards  its  inmates.  In  wliatever 
way  the  monks  might  occupy  themselves,  they  did  not 
interfere  with  the  affairs  of  others.  The  monastery  gave  a 
certain  amount  of  employment,  agricultural  and  otherwise, 
to  the  labourers  and  tradespeople  of  the  district,  and  paid 
punctually  and  liberally.  In  other  ways,  save  for  hearing 
the  bells  of  the  church,  the  Abbotsbury  people  knew  very 
little  about  them. 

It  was  a  different  thing,  however,  to  feel  that  the  mis- 
tress of  Abbotsbury  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  people 
began  to  wonder  whether  Lord  Redman's  wife  would  be 
like  the  black-and-white-robed  monks  by  the  river-side, 
and  live  in  a  mysterious  seclusion.  Mr.  Russell  and  his 
wife  had  received  many  interrogations  on  the  subject,  but, 
though  they  looked  forward  to  the  bride's  advent  with  no 
little  uneasiness  and  dislike,  they  had  been  too  loyal  to 
Lord  Redman  to  say  anything  which  could  prejudice  his 
dependents  against  the  woman  he  had  married.  As  Mr. 
Russell  said,  the  thing  was  done,  and  it  was  no  use  mak- 
ing matters  more  unpleasant  than  they  need  be.     All  that 


24  CASTING    OF    NETS 

could  be  hoped  was  that  Lady  Redman  was  not  a  bigot, 
and  would  not  try  to  proselytize  in  Abbotsbury,  or  under- 
mine the  legitimate  influence  of  the  Rectory  and  the  parish 
church. 

The  morning  after  the  arrival  of  the  Redmans  Mr.  Rus- 
sell was  writing  letters  in  his  study,  and  his  wife  was 
sitting  with  him,  when  a  servant  announced  that  his  lord- 
ship and  Lady  Redman  were  in  the  drawing-room. 

The  Russells  looked  at  each  other. 

*  That  is  very  nice  of  him,  bringing  her  to  see  us  at  once/ 
said  the  Rector. 

^  James/  said  Mrs.  Russell  nervously,  '  I  wonder  what 
she  will  be  like.  I  'm  sure  I  shan't  know  what  to  talk  to 
her  about.' 

^  Never  mind ;  let  us  go  in  and  get  it  over ; '  and  they 
went  to  the  drawing-room  together. 

^  How  are  you,  Mary  ? '  said  Lord  Redman,  coming  for- 
ward to  meet  them.  '  We  have  paid  you  an  early  visit ; 
but  I  wanted  you  and  Russell  to  be  the  first  people  at 
Abbotsbury  to  know  my  wife,  your  new  cousin.  Hilda,  I 
don't  think  I  need  introduce  you  formally  ? ' 

Lady  Redman  shook  hands  with  them. 

'  No,  indeed ! '  she  said,  smiling.  *  I  hope  we  have  n't 
disturbed  you  by  coming  at  this  informal  hour,'  she  added ; 
'  but,  you  see,  we  were  determined  that  our  first  visit 
should  be  to  the  Rectory.  What  a  delightful  place,  and 
wliat  a  garden  !     How  happy  you  must  be  here  ! ' 

Lady  Redman  was  so  perfectly  natural  and  at  her  ease, 
that  Mrs.  Russell's  nervousness  vanished  at  once. 

*  We  have  grown  very  fond  of  it,'  she  answered ;  and 
then  she  looked  at  her  cousin's  wife,  and  found  that  she 


CASTING    OF    NETS  25 

was  quite  a  different  person  in  appearance  and  manners 
from  all  that  she  had  imagined  she  would  be. 

Hilda  Redman  seemed  to  be  the  personification  of  care- 
less youth  and  happiness.  Mrs.  Russell  saw  a  pretty, 
smiling  face  looking  at  her  from  under  the  broad  brim  of 
a  Gainsborough  hat,  and  surrounded  by  a  wealth  of  curl- 
ing auburn  hair ;  a  tall,  well-modelled  figure,  which  with 
years  would  become  stately ;  a  general,  indefinable  look 
of  high-breeding  and  the  natural  simplicity  which  nearly 
always  accompanies  it. 

*  You  are  pleased  with  your  first  impressions  of  Abbots- 
bury,  I  hope,  Lady  Redman  ?  *  said  the  Rector. 

*  More  than  pleased  —  enchanted,'  replied  Hilda.  *  It 
is  a  beautiful  old  place.  Walter  is  going  to  take  me 
everywhere.  We  are  going  to  visit  every  house  and  cot- 
tage on  the  property.  I  shan't  feel  at  home  until  I  have 
made  acquaintance  with  all  his  people.  Do  you  think 
they  will  be  kind  to  me  ? '  she  added  half  appealingly. 

*  Kind  to  you  ! '  echoed  Mr.  Russell.  '  I  am  sure  you 
will  be  kind  to  them,  which  is  far  more  to  the  purpose.' 

'The  kindness  must  be  mutual  to  be  satisfactory,'  said 
Lady  Redman,  with  a  little  laugh.  'I  don't  mean  soup 
and  jellies  on  one  side,  and  curtsies  and  thanks  on 
the  other.  I  want  to  know  the  people  and  to  make 
them  feel  that  they  know  me,'  she  added,  with  a  little 
emphasis. 

'That  will  not  be  difficult,'  said  the  Rector.  'Our 
Abbotsbury  folk  are  a  little  behind  the  times,  perhaps,  but 
they  are  very  approachable,  especially  for  anybody  who 
bears  the  name  of  Redman.  You  will  find  an  almost 
feudal  feeling  remaining  about  here  for  your  husband's 


i6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

family.  There  are  farmers  and  labourers  whose  families 
have  been  on  the  estate  for  centuries.' 

^Can  we  look  into  the  church,  Russell?'  asked  Lord 
Redman.     ^  Hilda  would  like  to  see  it.' 

Mr.  Russell  looked  a  little  surprised. 

^  Of  course  ! '  he  replied.  ^  Abbotsbury  Church  is  al- 
ways open.  Mary  and  I  will  show  Lady  Redman  the 
garden  on  our  way  there.' 

They  went  out  through  the  drawing-room  window  on 
to  the  terrace,  and  Hilda  lingered,  admiring  the  old- 
fashioned  garden,  with  its  sweet-scented  flowers  and 
herbaceous  borders,  and  the  view  over  the  Trent  Valley 
to  the  high  ground  of  Cannock  Chase. 

^  There,'  said  the  Rector,  pointing  to  the  monastery 
buildings  in  the  distance,  *is  Abbotsbridge.  It  will  be 
your  nearest  church,  Lady  Redman  —  only  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  here.' 

^  Within  the  three-mile  limit,  Hilda,'  said  her  husband, 
laughing ;  '  so  you  can't  get  out  of  going.' 

'The  three-mile  limit?'  asked  Mrs.  Russell  vaguely. 
'What  do  you  mean,  Walter?' 

^  If  there  is  a  church  within  three  miles  of  her,  Hilda 
is  obliged  to  go  there  on  Sundays  and  holy  days,'  ex- 
plained Lord  Redman. 

Mrs.  Russell  felt  inclined  to  remark  that  there  was  a 
church  within  a  hundred  yards  of  Abbotsbury,  but,  catch- 
ing her  husband's  eye,  she  refrained. 

Abbotsbury  Church  was  a  very  ancient  building,  and 
among  the  arches  of  the  nave  were  two  or  three  remain- 
ing of  Saxon  architecture,  which  the  Rector  pointed  out 
to  Hilda  with  pardonable  pride.     The  chancel,  however. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  27 

was  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  edifice.  As  in 
several  cliurches  in  StafFordshire,  it  was  considerably 
below  the  level  of  the  nave,  so  that  the  conerreL'ation 
looked  down  upon  the  altar.  The  tombs  of  dead  and 
gone  Redmans  surrounded  it  on  all  sides.  Recumbent 
effigies  of  knightly  Crusaders  in  armour,  with  their  dames 
by  their  sides,  lay  gazing  up  to  the  vaulted  roof,  their 
feet  crossed  on  their  couchant  hound,  and  their  marble 
hands,  yellow  with  time,  joined  in  an  attitude  of  prayer. 
Here  and  there,  above  one  of  the  ^Yarriors,  hung  a  rusty 
helmet  or  dinted  casque,  or  a  pair  of  mailed  gauntlets, 
to  which  the  leather  still  hung  in  mouldering  strips.  The 
walls  were  covered  with  brasses  and  memorials  of  the 
past  bearers  of  the  name.  Soldiers,  priests,  courtiers, 
statesmen  —  there  were  records  of  all,  above  and  beneath ; 
for  the  chancel  was  in  reality  the  mortuary  chapel  of  the 
Redmans,  whose  family  vaults  lay  beneath  its  pavement, 
and  it  was  the  property,  not  of  the  Church,  but  of  the 
head  of  the  ancient  house  which  for  nearly  a  thousand 
years  had  dwelt  at  Abbotsbury. 

Hilda  looked  at  her  husband  as  he  stood  by  the  marble 
effigy  of  one  of  the  earliest  of  his  ancestors,  also  a  Walter 
Redman,  which  lay  at  the  right-hand  side  of  the  altar. 
The  rich  tracery  of  the  reredos  still  remained,  but  the 
niches  which  had  held  the  figures  of  the  saints  were 
empty.  In  the  centre  space,  which  the  crucifix  had  once 
filled,  and  sometimes  the  monstrance  containing  the  Host, 
stood  brass  vases  of  autumnal  flowers.  On  the  altar  itself 
a  plain  brass  cross  occupied  the  place  where  once  tlie 
ciborium  had  been,  flanked  by  two  candlesticks.  Except 
for   the   cross,   it   more   resembled,   to   Hilda's   mind,   a 


2g  CASTING    OF    NETS 

dressing-table  or  a  side-board  than  an  altar.  As  she 
looked  at  Lord  Redman,  the  living  representative  of  the 
dead  all  around  him,  she  could  not  but  feel  that  the 
latter  were  worthily  replaced  by  their  descendant  so  far 
as  character  and  personal  appearance  were  concerned. 
Nobody  could  look  at  Walter  Redman  and  take  him  for 
other  than  a  high-bred  gentleman. 

Tall,  with  a  slight  but  strong  figure,  he  had  the  open 
brow  and  steady,  straightforward  expression  of  counte- 
nance that  was  remarkable  in  the  faces  of  many  of  the 
family  portraits  at  Abbotsbury.  It  was  not  a  hard  face, 
but  there  was  that  about  the  lines  of  the  mouth  and  chin 
which  spoke  of  a  certain  degree  of  quiet  determination 
of  character.  The  living  Walter  Redman  looked  very 
handsome  as  he  leaned  carelessly  against  the  tomb  of  the 
dead  one  —  the  goodly  heir  of  a  goodly  English  race.  As 
Hilda  watched  him,  a  sudden  sense  of  the  incongruity  of 
the  situation  came  to  her.  What  had  he,  her  husband, 
in  common  with  those  old  Redmans  who  had  been  laid 
to  rest  with  all  the  stately  ritual  of  the  Faith  he  denied  ? 

She  looked  beyond  him  to  the  stripped  and  barren 
altar,  and  the  emptiness  of  it  all  smote  her.  How 
could  Walter  stand  there  so  calmly  and  indifferently, 
she  wondered,  and  not  realize  how  separated  he  was 
from  all  that  those  lying  at  his  feet  had  held  most 
sacred?  She  looked  at  the  Russells.  The  Rector  was 
adjusting  the  blue  ribbons  of  the  markers  in  the  large 
Bible  on  the  lectern,  and  his  wife  was  pushing  refractory 
dahlias  into  the  brass  vases  on  the  altar. 

Hilda  wished  that  she  and  her  husband  had  been 
alone   together   in   the   church.     She   longed    to   say   to 


CASTING    OF    NETS  29 

him  somctliing  of  what  was  passing  in  her  mind  —  to 
ask  him  how  he  coukl  stand  there  among  his  dead  and 
be  untouched  by  the  Faith  that  had  been  theirs.  Here, 
around  and  beneath  them,  generation  after  generation 
had  kxid  themselves  down  in  peace  and  a  sure  and 
certain  hope ;  but  the  okl  Faith  had  changed,  and  he, 
Walter  Redman,  was  the  result  of  the  change  —  a  man 
with  no  hopes  and  no  fears,  no  trust  in  the  future,  no 
belief  in  the  present. 

Never  since  the  day  of  her  marriage  had  Hilda  felt 
so  great  a  longing  to  speak.  It  would  be  a  relief,  she 
thought,  if  she  could  only  ask  Walter  the  simple 
question,  'Why?'  But  the  compact  made  at  their 
marriage  rose  up  like  a  barrier  between  them.  Her 
husband  had  hitherto  scrupulously  adhered  to  his 
promise  never  to  interfere  with  her  religious  opinions, 
and  Hilda  always  remembered  that  he  had  stipulated 
for  a  similar  non-interference  on  her  part  with  his  views 
on  such  subjects.  However  much,  therefore,  she  might 
wish  to  break  down  this  barrier,  she  felt  that  she  could 
not  fail  in  maintaining  her  part  of  the  compact  made  at 
their  engagement.  The  latter  had,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
been  not  so  much  of  her  making  as  of  Lady  Merton's. 
There  had  been  a  time  when  Lord  Redman  became 
impatient  of  the  objections  to  the  marriage  which  Lady 
Gwendolen,  inspired  by  her  own  fears  and  Father 
Galsworthy's  counsels,  had  perpetually  brought  forward. 
He  w^as  quite  prepared  to  allow  to  his  wife  the  full  liberty 
of  her  conscience,  but  he  had  no  .intention  of  resigning 
the  liberty  of  his  own.  Lady  ]Merton  foresaw  the  danger 
of  a  rupture  of  any  further  negotiations  on  Lord  Redman's 


30  CASTING    OF    NETS 

part.  It  was  she  who  had  suggested  this  compact  to 
Walter,  and  had  advised  her  grand-daughter  to  agree  to 
it.  Hilda  would  have  agreed  to  anything  which  did  not 
entail  the  loss  of  her  lover.  Her  religious  convictions 
were  the  result  rather  of  heredity  and  education  than  of 
reason  and  spiritual  discernment.  With  how  many  of 
us  are  they  not? 

When  Lady  Merton  found  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty 
acceptable  alike  to  Walter  Redman  and  to  Hilda,  she 
probably  did  not  believe  that  the  latter  would  consider 
herself  as  bound  in  honour  to  adhere  to  her  part  of  the 
contract.  Indeed,  in  the  course  of  the  conversations 
which  they  had  had  together  on  the  subject,  she  had 
tried  to  make  Hilda  understand  that  the  measure  was 
one  to  be  undertaken  for  the  protection  of  her  own 
faith  and  spiritual  welfare,  and  as  a  security  that  the 
commencement  of  her  married  life  should  be  serene, 
and  free  from  any  of  those  petty  differences  which 
divergence  of  religious  opinions  might  produce.  After- 
wards, she  had  told  the  girl,  it  might  be  her  duty  to  do 
all  in  her  power  to  overcome  her  husband's  scepticism 
and  bring  him  into  the  Church. 

Lady  Gwendolen,  accustomed  all  her  life  to  submit 
her  own  more  simple  judgment  to  the  guidance  of  Lady 
Merton's  superior  worldly  experience  and  spiritual  tact, 
talked  to  her  daughter  in  the  same  sense  when  once  she 
had  brought  herself  to  accept  Lady  Merton's  argument, 
that  the  Almighty  had  arranged  that  Hilda  and  Lord 
Redman  should  marry  each  other  with  the  double  object 
in  view  of  saving  the  latter's  soul  and  of  benefiting  the 
position  of  His  Church. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  31 

Hilda  had  listened  and  acquiesced.  Slie  had  been  so 
supremely  happy  durnig  the  (ew  weeks  which  had 
elapsed  since  her  marriage,  that  the  thought  of  any 
difference  of  belief  existing  between  Walter  Redman 
and  herself  had  scarcely  ever  occurred  to  her,  and  had 
certainly  never  troubled  her.  They  had  spent  tlieir 
honeymoon  in  the  North  of  Scotland,  and  it  was  only 
when  the  time  drew  near  for  their  arrival  at  Abbotsbury 
that  Hilda  had  sometimes  felt  nervous  as  to  how  she 
might  be  received  in  her  husband's  place,  and  whether 
she  should  be  looked  upon  with  coldness  and  distrust 
as  a  Roman  Catholic,  who  was  probably  trying  to  con- 
vert him. 

She  had  confided  her  fears  to  ^Y alter,  and  he  had 
laughed  at  her. 

'  You  may  be  sure,'  he  had  said  to  her,  '  that  acquaint- 
ance with  people  who  look  coldly  on  others  on  account 
of  their  beliefs  or  disbeliefs  is  not  worth  cultivating,'  and 
with  this  remark  he  had  dropped  the  subject. 

That  very  morning,  while  they  wxre  wandering  through 
the  rooms  at  Abbotsbury,  Lord  Redman  had  taken  his 
wife  into  what  had  once  been  the  old  chapel,  but  which 
for  many  long  years  had  been  dismantled  and  used  as  a 
kind  of  lumber-room. 

'We  used  to  be  turned  in  here  to  play  on  wet  days 
when  we  were  children,'  he  said,  with  a  smik^  And 
then  he  had  added :  '  I  dare  say  you  would  like  to  have 
it  restored  to  its  old  use.  It  could  very  easily  be  done, 
if  you  wish  it.' 

Hilda  was  roused  from  her  reflections  by  her  husband's 
voice. 


32  CASTING    OF    NETS 

^  What  are  you  tliinking  about  ? '  he  asked.  '  You 
look  very  serious.' 

Hilda  smiled. 

'  All  sorts  of  things,  Walter/  she  replied.  ^  I  am  glad 
you  brought  me  here,'  she  added  softly. 

^  I  hope  you  will  often  come,  Lady  Redman,'  said  the 
Rector;  ^you  will  always  find  the  church  open.' 

'We  have  three  services  on  Sundays,  and  Matins 
and  Evensong  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,'  remarked 
Mrs.  Russell  from  the  altar. 

Lord  Redman  intervened  a  little  hastily. 

'Come,  Hilda,'  he  said;  'I  think  we  must  be  going 
back  to  the  house.  You  have  been  introduced  to  the 
dead,  and  there  are  plenty  of  the  living  who  are  anxious 
to  see  you.' 

'Won't  you  and  Mary  come  and  dine  with  us  to- 
night ? '  he  added,  turning  to  Mr.  Russell. 

'  Shan't  we  be  de  trop  ? '  asked  the  Rector. 

Lady  Redman  laughed. 

'  Oh  no,'  she  replied ;  *  Walter  and  I  have  dined  alone 
for  nearly  six  weeks.  I  believe  he  is  simply  longing  for 
a  change  of  company.' 

'You  will  be  doing  Hilda  a  kindness,  you  see,' 
remarked  Lord  Redman. 

The  Russells  parted  with  them  in  the  churchyard, 
and  walked  slowly  back  to  the  Rectory  together. 

'  Mary,'  said  the  Rector  solemnly,  '  she  is  charming.' 

'  Yes  ;  but,  oh  dear  !  that  makes  it  all  the  worse.' 

'  Makes  what  all  the  worse  ? ' 

'  Why,  her  being  a  Romanist,  of  course ! ' 

Mr.  Russell  frowned  a  little. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  33 

*  It  is  ii  sad  misfortune,'  ho  said,  sigliin*; ;  'but  at  any 
rate  a  pleasant  Romanist  is  better  than  a  disagreeable 
one,  and  they  can  be  very  disagreeable  sometimes ;  the 
women  especially,  if  they  arc  perverts.' 

Mr.  Russell  had  a  vivid  recollection  of  days  passed 
in  a  hotel  at  Rome  nmcli  frequented  by  p]nglishwomen 
of  middle  age  and  fervent  piety,  who  talked  at  him 
amongst  each  other  during  meals  in  the  hopes  of  making 
him  realize  the  falsity  of  the  Anglican  position. 

'  She  is  evidently  anxious  to  be  friendly,'  he  con- 
tinued, ^and  Redman  and  she  appear  to  be  very  happy. 
I  liked  what  she  said  about  wishing  to  know  all  the 
people,  and  not  to  be  merely  a  sort  of  Lady  Bountiful 
to  them.' 

*  Yes,  I  suppose  so,'  replied  his  wife  dubiously,  *  so  long 
as  she  does  n't  try  to  proselytize  among  them.  I  must 
say,  James,  she  is  quite  a  different  sort  of  person  from 
what  I  had  pictured  her,  and  I  don't  wonder  that 
Walter  fell  in  love  with  her.  We  must  wait  and  see, 
however,  what  line  she  will  take,  and  whether  she  will 
fill  the  house  with  her  Roman  Catholic  friends  and  re- 
lations and  surround  W^alter  with  priests.  There  will  be 
many  influences  at  work  upon  her,  you  may  be  sure,  for 
Walter  would  be  a  great  catch  for  her  Church.' 

The  Rector  stepped  across  a  bed  of  onions,  and 
released  a  blackbird  from  the  meshes  of  a  net  stretched 
across  a  plum-tree  on  the  red-brick  wall  of  the  garden. 

'Heaven  knows  I  don't  want  Redman  to  become  a 

Roman  Catholic,'  he   said  when  he  had  completed  the 

operation,  'but  an  element  of  belief  introduced  into  his 

life  would  not  be  a  bad  thing  for  him.     I  confess  that 

3 


34  CASTING    OF    NETS 

I  shall  be  curious  to  see  how  things  go  at  the  Hall. 
Her  bringing  up  must  have  been  so  utterly  different, 
and  I  can't  think  how  she  will  get  on  among  the  set 
that  Redman  likes  to  have  about  him.  Luckily  for 
both  of  them,  the  marriage  is  evidently  one  of  affection. 
If  it  were  not  so,  I  should  be  afraid  there  might  be  dis- 
agreeables in  the  future,  when  they  have  to  settle  down 
to  their  everyday  life.' 


CHAPTER  IV 

^  I^IE  autumn  days  faded  gently  and  ^inipereeptibly 
A  into  winter.  Except  for  an  occasional  three  days' 
visit,  Lord  and  Lady  Redman  had  remaified  at  Abbotsbury. 
After  the  first  week  or  so  they  had  seldom  been  alone,  for 
there  had  been  a  succession  of  guests  coming  and  going  on 
their  way  south  from  Scotland  to  the  various  country- 
houses  in  the  Midlands.  Hilda  had  experienced  none  of 
the  petty  annoyances  which  in  the  earlier  days  of  her  mar- 
ried life  she  had  feared  she  might  encounter  owing  to  her 
being  a  Catholic.  Perhaps  her  personal  beauty  and  charm 
of  manner  disarmed  those  of  her  husband's  county  neigh- 
bours who  mif]:ht  have  been  inclined  to  resent  his  marria<]re 
with  her  on  the  score  of  her  faith.  A  certain  amount  of 
disapproval  had  not  unnaturally  been  expressed  in  Staf- 
fordshire at  the  marriage,  for  Abbotsbury  had  been  looked 
upon  from  time  immemorial  as  an  institution  in  the  county, 
and  many  of  the  old  friends  and  connections  of  the  Red- 
man family  were  genuinely  grieved  at  the  thought  that  the 
old  place  and  name  must,  in  all  probability,  pass  in  the 
future  to  Catholic  owners. 

The  late  Lord  Redman  and  his  predecessors  before  him 
had  entertained  at  Abbotsbury  on  a  princely  scale.  In 
their  reign  the  place  had  been  a  centre  of  the  intimate 


^6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

county  society  of  those  times,  when  people  did  not  hurry 
madly  from  one  country-house  to  another  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  kingdom,  staying  three  days 
here  and  three  days  there,  and  spending  half  of  their  exist- 
ence and  much  of  their  substance  on  the  railway.  Abbots- 
bury  had  been  a  house  where  the  worthies  of  all  the 
country  between  tlie  Peak  and  the  Wrekin  met,  and  three 
counties  had  been  proud  of  its  hospitality  and  venerable 
traditions. 

There  were  those  yet  alive  who  remembered  how  Christ- 
mas had  been  kept  at  Abbotsbury  in  the  days  of  the  grand- 
father of  the  present  owner,  and  could  see  the  stately  old 
peer  seated  at  the  head  of  the  long  table  in  the  Barons' 
Hall,  a  room  rich  with  the  associations  of  the  Redmans 
and  of  England  itself.  The  light  of  the  wax-candles  fell 
upon  the  old  stained-glass  windows  emblazoned  with  the 
various  coats  of  arms  and  quarterings  of  the  house  since 
the  twelfth  century.  Over  the  great  fireplace,  carved  in 
bas-relief,  was  a  representation  of  the  signing  of  Magna 
Charta,  and  ancient  tapestries,  depicting  famous  episodes 
of  war  and  statecraft  in  wliich  the  race  had  taken  part, 
hung  from  the  walls.  The  old  folk  would  tell  how,  at  the 
conclusion  of  dinner,  the  head  forester  of  Redman's  Cross 
would  enter  the  hall,  followed  by  his  subordinates  clad  in 
their  uniforms  of  green  and  gold,  each  leading  a  leash  of 
the  famous  blood-hounds  which  had  been  bred  in  the  ken- 
nels at  Redman's  Cross  for  centuries.  They  would  tell 
how  the  hounds,  so  formidable  in  appearance,  so  gentle  in 
reality,  would  be  led  round  the  dining-table  and  up  to  the 
old  lord,  who  would  caress  them  and  give  to  each  his  por- 
tion of  Christmas  fare. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  37 

And  then  the  mummers  would  come  in,  with  their 
horned  masks  and  their  hobby-horses,  and  sing  the  old 
songs  that  were  sung,  it  may  be,  to  Robin  Hood  and  Maid 
Marion,  and  the  simple,  quaint  Christmas  carols  of  past 
days.  Christmas-tide  over,  they  would  hang  up  their 
mummers'  toggery  in  Abbotsbury  Church,  not  to  be  taken 
down  till  the  Festival  of  the  Holy  Child  should  come 
round  again ;  and  chance  visitors  to  the  church  would  ask 
what  the  presence  of  the  grotesque  garments  and  horned 
masks  in  the  sacred  building  might  mean,  and  would 
wonder  at  having  stumbled  upon  a  survival  of  medieval 
customs  in  this  remote  portion  of  the  county  which  con- 
tains the  Potteries  and  the  Black  Country  within  its 
boundaries. 

If  the  feeling  of  regret  remained  among  Lord  Redman's 
friends  and  neighbours  that  Abbotsbury  should  eventually 
pass  into  Catholic  hands,  the  new  Lady  Redman  succeeded 
in  winning  the  goodwill  of  all  who  came  into  contact  with 
her.  Her  simple,  natural  manner,  the  same  to  rich  and 
poor,  quickly  overcame  any  prejudices  which  might  have 
been  harboured  against  her  personally.  People  said  that, 
after  all.  Lord  Redman  was  very  lucky,  and  began  to  reflect 
that  if  he  did  not  mind  his  wife  being  a  Roman  Catholic, 
and  his  children,  if  he  had  any,  being  brought  up  in  an- 
other religion  to  that  of  his  forefathers,  there  was  no  par- 
ticular reason  why  anybody  else  should  do  so.  This  liberal 
view  of  the  situation  was,  to  be  sure,  confined  to  the  more 
important  of  the  Redmans'  country  neighbours,  and  to 
their  own  tenants  and  cottagers.  That  portion  of  the 
county  society  which  took  its  views  from  the  local  clergy 
and  the  parish  magazines  shook  its  head  ominously  over 


38  CASTING    OF    NETS 

the  future  of  Abbotsbury,  and  sniffed  the  air  to  catch  the 
first  breath  of  proselytism. 

In  the  more  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Abbotsbury 
Mrs.  Russell  had  been  the  means  of  tranquillizing  the 
minds  of  many  who  had  expected  nothing  less  than  an  im- 
mediate invasion  of  secret  emissaries  of  Rome  to  follow 
the  appearance  of  a  Catholic  mistress  of  the  Hall,  as  the 
great  house  was  called  for  miles  round  it. 

The  Rector  had  been  astonished,  knowing  his  wife's 
prejudices  against  what  she  termed  Romanism,  at  the 
friendliness  which  she  had  developed  in  the  course  of  a 
few  weeks  for  Lady  Redman. 

Mary  Russell  seemed  to  have  quite  overcome  her  suspi- 
cions that  her  cousin's  wife  would  interfere  in  her  work 
among  the  cottagers  and  poor  people  in  the  parish.  She 
would  often  allude  to  the  fact  of  Hilda  being  a  Romanist 
as  deplorable,  but,  as  the  weeks  went  by,  even  these  objec- 
tions became  less  frequent  on  her  part,  and  the  Rector, 
who  had  always  feared  that  the  two  would  dislike  each 
other,  and  that  his  position  would  thereby  become  some- 
what difficult,  watched  the  friendship  growing  up  between 
them  with  considerable  satisfaction.  It  would  have  been 
very  unpleasant  had  the  Hall  and  the  Rectory  at  Abbots- 
bury not  been  upon  friendly  terms,  and  Mary  Russell's  con- 
nection with  Lord  Redman  would  have  made  such  a  state 
of  things  doubly  disagreeable  for  all  parties. 

The  Rector's  wife  was  almost  as  much  surprised  as  the 
Rector  himself,  not  only  to  find  that  she  was  rapidly  be- 
coming intimate  with  Lady  Redman,  but  that  the  latter 
interested  her  almost  in  spite  of  herself  and  of  her  foregone 
conclusions  concerning  Roman  Catholics  in  general. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  39 

She  had  made  up  lier  mind  that  Hilda  would  be  aggres- 
sive, and  had  expected  to  be  kept  at  a  distance  as  the  wife 
of  the  minister  of  a  religion  which  was  heretical  in  Lady 
Redman's  eyes.  Instead  of  this,  she  had  found  herself 
treated  from  the  first  as  a  relation  and  friend,  and  in  her 
almost  daily  intercourse  with  Hilda  she  was  obliged  to 
confess  to  herself  that  whenever  their  conversation  hap- 
pened to  touch  in  the  remotest  degree  upon  religious  mat- 
ters, it  was  invariably  she  herself  who  gave  that  particular 
turn  to  it.  Indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  absence  of 
Lady  Redman  from  the  church  services,  and  the  occasional 
presence  of  Lord  Redman  sitting  alone  in  the  family  seat 
in  the  chancel  on  Sunday  mornings,  Mary  Russell  would 
scarcely  have  remembered  that  Hilda  was  not  one  of  them- 
selves in  matters  of  faith. 

When  he  was  at  Abbotsbury,  Walter  Redman  made 
a  point  of  occasionally  appearing  at  the  parish  church. 
He  did  not  do  so,  like  a  well-known  great  lady  in  Lon- 
don of  the  middle  of  the  century,  in  order  to  '  do  the 
ci\il  thing  by  the  Almighty,'  but  in  order  to  support  an 
institution  which  he  considered  to  be  of  use  to  society 
generally.  It  was  neither  known  nor  suspected  at  Ab- 
botsbury that  Lord  Redman  was  an  agnostic,  or,  as 
Abbotsbury  would  have  called  it  with  greater  directness, 
a  heathen.  In  AYalter  Redman's  opinion  the  majority  of 
mankind  required  some  form  or  another  of  dogmatic  be- 
lief, while  a  minority  of  it  did  not;  but  he  was  unable 
to  admit  that  the  minority  had  any  right  to  attempt  to 
interfere  with  that  which  experience  had  taught  the 
majority  was  to  the  latter's  advantage  to  believe  in. 

He  himself  had  been  brought  up  in  all  the  formal  tra- 


40  CASTING    OF    NETS 

ditions  of  a  Protestantism  into  which  Puseyism  had  never 
penetrated.  The  Honourable  and  Reverend  Richard,  his 
uncle,  would  have  been  extremely  annoyed  had  his  High 
Church  principles  been  called  into  question ;  but  he  would 
also  have  been  considerably  perplexed  had  he  been  de- 
fined as  an  Anglican  priest.  Regularly  as  a  boy,  on 
Sunday  mornings,  Walter  had  sat  from  eleven  o'clock 
until  a  quarter  to  one  in  the  oak  stalls  of  the  chancel  in 
Abbotsbury  Church,  and  wondered  how  Sir  Walter  de 
Redman  could  have  squeezed  himself  into  the  armour 
which  hung  on  the  opposite  wall.  He  found  himself  at 
thirty  wondering  the  same  thing,  especially  during  the 
Psalms,  or  while  Mr.  Russell  was  preaching.  Every 
morning  at  nine  o'clock  his  father  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  reading  family  prayers  in  the  presence  of  his  house- 
hold, in  measured,  exhortatory  tones,  as  though  giving 
the  Almighty  His  orders  for  the  day. 

It  was  not  until  he  was  a  young  fellow  of  twenty  that 
Walter  had  realized  with  some  surprise  that  such  things 
were  not  necessary  to  existence,  and  he  was  some  years 
older  before  it  became  apparent  to  him  that  he  had  no 
positive  belief  at  all.  Walter  Redman  had  always  been 
of  a  thoughtful  disposition.  Life,  in  all  its  manifold 
representations,  had  ever  possessed  for  him  an  extreme 
fascination.  This  fascination  had  not  stopped  short  at 
the  point  of  deriving  as  much  enjoyment  out  of  it  as 
possible,  as  was  the  case  with  the  great  majority  of  men 
of  his  age  and  class.  The  circumstances  of  his  boyhood 
had  doubtless  contributed  in  no  slight  degree  to  the 
formation  of  a  somewhat  serious  and  critical  turn  of 
mind. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  41 

He  had  been,  to  begin  witli,  an  only  surviving  son. 
Two  of  his  brothers  had  died  in  infaney,  and  his  lite  be- 
came, therefore,  doubly  precious  to  his  parents.  His 
father  had  given  way  to  the  mother's  desire  to  keep  her 
boy  at  home  until  he  should  be  of  an  age  to  go  to  a  pub- 
lic school ;  and  when  that  age  arrived,  Walter  had  been 
sent,  like  all  his  family  before  him,  to  Eton,  Lord  Red- 
man being  very  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  only  the 
training  of  a  public  school  could  properly  fit  a  lad  to 
take  up  his  position  in  the  world  as  a  man  in  after-life. 

The  quiet  years  spent  with  a  private  tutor  at  Abbots- 
bury  had  not  been  without  their  effect  upon  the  boy. 
For  good  or  ill,  there  is  no  such  teacher  as  solitude  for 
youth,  and  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old  Walter  Red- 
man had  necessarily  had  his  fair  share  of  it.  During  the 
long  summer  months,  when  Abbotsbury  was  empty  and 
his  father  and  motlier  were  up  in  London,  he  had  no 
companions  but  his  pony  and  his  dog  when  the  hours 
for  work  with  the  tutor  were  over.  Solitary  rambles 
through  the  woods,  or  afternoons  spent  on  the  banks  of 
the  trout-stream  with  his  fishing-rod,  had  been  his  chief 
recreations,  and  with  these  had  come  a  great  love  for 
the  life  of  the  woodland  and  water,  and  a  feeling  of 
friendship  and  sympathy  with  Nature  generally.  Li  those 
years  W^alter  Redman  had  unconsciously  made  intimate 
acquaintance  with  those  simple  beauties  of  life  which 
were  to  help  him  to  grapple  with  its  problems  later  on. 

After  four  years  or  so  at  Eton,  he  had  gone  to  Oxford, 
Lord  Redman's  idea  having  been  that  his  son  should  go 
into  Parliament.  At  the  University  W^alter  had  speedily 
found  the  path  which  his  temperament  and  the  habits  of 


42  CASTING    OF    NETS 

observation  contracted  in  earlier  years  inclined  him  to 
follow.  He  began  to  interest  himself  in  natural  science 
and  in  the  social  questions  of  the  day,  and  his  pursuit 
of  these  studies  soon  brought  him  into  contact  with  the 
more  serious  portion  of  college  life.  Men  in  this  set  far 
older  than  the  future  Lord  Redman  recognised  in  him  a 
personality  which  was  singularly  attractive  to  them,  and 
they  admitted  him  into  their  circle  with  more  readiness 
than  they  would  have  shown  in  the  case  of  the  majority 
of  undergraduates.  With  all  his  interest  in  the  more 
serious  problems  of  existence,  there  was  nothing  of  the 
prig  about  Walter  Redman.  It  very  soon  became  known 
that  he  was  not  one  of  those  young  men  who  affected 
mental  superiority  in  order  to  conceal  moral  and  physical 
deficiencies. 

Lord  Redman's  unexpected  death,  which  took  place 
when  Walter  had  been  at  Oxford  about  four  years,  put 
an  end  to  all  schemes  of  a  Parliamentary  career  for  the 
latter,  and  for  a  year  or  two  after  his  succession  to  the 
title  he  continued  his  University  life,  at  the  conclusion 
of  which,  having  taken  an  unusually  brilliant  degree,  he 
had  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  travelling.  The  world 
of  society  in  London  had,  consequently,  known  little  or 
nothing  of  the  young  Lord  Redman,  and  he  had  been 
looked  upon  by  mothers  with  marriageable  daughters  as 
completely  beyond  their  reach.  Lady  Merton,  however, 
had  met  him  at  Rome,  where  he  had  spent  some  weeks 
on  his  way  back  from  an  expedition  in  Asia  Minor. 
Walter  had  been  introduced  to  her  by  a  mutual  acquaint- 
ance as  a  Free-thinker,  and  Lady  Merton,  who  knew  all 
about  him  as  soon   as  she  heard  his  name,  while  duly 


CASTING    OF    NETS  43 

deploring  the  fact,  began  to  wonder  wliethcr  his  wandcr- 
inf'-  thoughts  might  not  eventually  be  turned  in  the  direc- 
tion of  her  grand- daughter,  Hilda  Cawarden,  who  was 
to  come  out  the  following  season  in  London. 

Lady  Mcrton  was  very  civil  to  young  Lord  Redman  in 
Rome.  She  asked  him  to  her  luncheon  parties  in  the 
Via  Gresroriana,  where  she  hired  au  ill-furnished  and 
dreary  apartment  at  the  usual  exorbitant  rent  demanded 
in  the  English  quarter  of  the  city,  and  entertained  Cardi- 
nals, iNIonsignori,  the  black  world  generally,  and  a  sprink- 
ling of  possible  converts  whose  interest  in  Catholicism 
might  judiciously  be  increased  by  finding  themselves 
seated  between  an  Archbishop  in  picturesque  clothes  and 
a  Roman  princess.  Walter  Redman  quietly  studied  both 
his  hostess  and  her  entourage,  as  he  studied  most  people. 
Lady  Merton  amused  him.  She  was  so  obviously  a  pro- 
fessional in  her  Catholicism,  and  her  capacity  for  assimi- 
lating the  miraculous  seemed  to  him  to  be  second  only  to 
her  powers  of  invention.  The  priests  did  not  amuse  him. 
Their  countenances  as  a  rule  inspired  him  ^\X\  distrust, 
and  sometimes  with  a  stronger  feeling,  while  their  conver- 
sation gave  him  the  impression  of  men  who  were  laughing 
in  their  sleeves  at  the  things  in  which  they  professed  to 
believe.  The  Roman  princesses  as  a  rule  simply  bored 
him. 

Lady  jNIerton,  however,  had  no  intention  of  losing  sight 
of  so  eligible  a  young  man  as  Lord  Redman,  and  she  had 
pressed  him  to  come  to  Ware  the  following  autumn  for 
one  of  her  shooting  parties,  for  which  she  had  taken  good 
care  that  ]Miss  Cawarden  should  be  staying  witli  her. 

Hilda  had  been  married  but  a  short  time  before  she 


44  CASTING    OF    NETS 

found  out  that  the  state  of  perplexity  and  dissatisfaction 
in  which  Lady  Merton  had  depicted  her  husband  as 
labouring  existed  only  in  her  grandmother's  imagination. 
She  could  not  but  see  that  Walter  was  entirely  happy, 
and  that  he  was  very  far  indeed  from  evincing  the  interest 
in  his  wife's  religion  which  she  had  been  so  repeatedly 
assured  would  show  itself  directly  after  their  marriage. 
The  absence  of  it  did  not  disturb  her  very  seriously.  A 
young  girl,  married  to  the  man  she  loved,  and  who  she 
knew  returned  her  love,  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  if 
she  had  no  place  for  other  thoughts  in  her  mind  than  of 
her  husband's  and  her  own  happiness.  She  drove  over 
to  Abbotsbridge  to  Mass  on  Sunday  mornings,  and  when 
she  got  there  it  seemed  easier  to  thank  God  for  all  that 
had  been  given  to  Walter  and  to  herself  than  to  ask  for 
anything  more.  It  was  quite  in  vain  that  Lady  Merton 
urffed  her  in  her  letters  to  address  herself  to  the  interven- 
tion  of  St.  Joseph  as  a  means  of  obtaining  her  husband's 
speedy  conversion.  Hilda  felt  that  the  interference  of 
St.  Joseph,  or  of  any  other  saint,  would  not  be  acceptable 
just  then.  She  did  not  believe  that  Walter  and  she 
would  be  either  more  or  less  happy  if  he  were  a  Catholic, 
and  she  was  not  at  all  sure  that  St.  Joseph,  with  the  best 
intentions,  might  not  introduce  discordant  elements  into 
their  lives.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  seemed  to  be 
safer  not  to  make  any  effort  to  interest  him  in  the  matter 
for  the  present,  and  she  felt  almost  uneasy  at  the  thought 
of  the  possible  effects  which  the  attempts  of  her  relations 
to  do  so  might  produce. 

Curiously  enough,  the  only  person  at  Abbotsbury  with 
whom  Hilda  was  able  to  talk  of  her  religion  was  Mary 


CASTING    OF    NETS  45 

Russell.  The  subject  seemed  to  have  a  strange  fascina- 
tion for  Mrs.  Kussell,  and  as  she  became  more  intimate 
with  her  cousin's  wife,  she  would  ask  her  for  information 
on  many  points  of  Catholic  doctrine,  although  she  was 
scarcely  able  to  conceal  her  disapproval  when  these  were 
explained  to  her  by  Lady  Redman.  The  Roman  Church, 
indeed,  exercised  the  attraction  of  the  candle  to  the  moth 
for  the  wife  of  the  Rector  of  Abbotsbury,  but,  notwith- 
standing her  strong  prejudices  against  Romanists,  as  she 
invariably  termed  its  members,  she  had  never  been 
brought  into  contact  with  one  of  them,  except  in  the 
most  formal  and  transitory  manner.  She  had  not,  there- 
fore, been  able  to  recover  her  astonishment,  during  the 
first  weeks  of  her  acquaintance  with  Hilda,  at  finding  the 
latter  to  be  like  other  people,  and,  as  she  daily  had 
occasion  to  think,  nicer  than  the  majority.  She  had 
expected  to  find  a  supercilious  young  woman  who  would 
look  upon  her  as  an  ignorant  heretic,  to  be  pitied,  per- 
haps, but  also  to  be  made  to  feel  both  her  ignorance  and 
her  heresy.  She  had  found  instead  a  natural,  unaffected 
girl,  full  of  the  happiness  and  high  spirits  of  youth. 

That  this  attitude  had  not  proceeded  from  carelessness 
or  indifference  on  Lady  Redman's  part  Mary  Russell  had 
very  quickly  realized.  She  had  not  been  able  to  avoid 
observing  that  while  Hilda  never  spontaneously  talked 
about  her  o^vn  religion,  she  often  inquired  very  minutely 
into  matters  which  were  indirectly  connected  with  the 
parish  church. 

'I  shall  come  to  you  for  information  about  the  village 
people  and  the  farmers,'  Hilda  had  said  to  her,  smiling, 
at- an  early  period  of  their  acquaintanceship.     'You  see,* 


46  CASTING    OF    NETS 

she  had  added,  *  at  Cawarden  it  was  difFereut.  Almost 
all  our  people  there  are  Catholics,  so,  of  course,  I  knew 
just  how  to  talk  to  them,  and  all  about  their  wants  and 
their  grievances.  But  here  I  am  afraid  of  being  looked 
upon  as  an  intruder  on  account  of  our  not  all  going  to  the 
same  church.' 

This  little  speech  had  done  much  to  allay  Mary 
Russell's  fears,  into  which  there  had  entered  a  certain 
amount  of  jealousy.  Jest  Hilda  should  seek  to  undermine 
her  influence  in  the  parish  and  perhaps  attempt  to  intro- 
duce disturbing  ideas  into  the  heads  of  the  Abbotsbury 
folk.  She  very  soon  became  satisfied  that  Lady  Redman 
had  no  intention  of  doing  anything  of  the  kind.  It  was 
wonderful  how  soon  Hilda  made  friends,  as  she  had  ex- 
pressed her  determination  of  doing,  with  all  her  husband's 
tenants.  Even  the  Tomlinsons,  the  dissenting  farmer  and 
his  wife  who  were  the  tenants  of  one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  Abbotsbury  farms,  and  who  were  thorns  in  the  sides 
of  the  Rector  and  Mary  Russell,  were  among  her  most 
devoted  admirers.  The  odium  theologiciim  had  kindled 
somewhat  over  this  point  at  the  Rectory,  and  Mrs.  Rus- 
sell had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  remark  a  little  irritably 
that,  after  all,  it  was  very  natural.  Dissenters  always 
made  friends  with  each  other,  and  Hilda,  when  all  was 
said  and  done,  was  a  dissenter  just  as  much  as  the  Tom- 
linsons were. 

So  the  weeks  passed,  and  already  Christ  mas- time  was 
approaching.  It  soon  became  known  in  the  neighbour- 
hood that  Christmas  that  year  was  to  be  kept  up  at 
Abbotsbury  according  to  the  traditions  of  the  place. 
Lord  and  Lady  Rednum  had  expressed  their  determina- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  47 

tion  to  revive  all  the  kindly  hospitality  and  picturesque 
usages  which  had  been  neglected  while  the  present  owner 
was  a  bachelor  and  absent  on  his  travels  in  far-off  coun- 
tries. The  Hall  was  to  be  filled  by  a  large  party  of  guests 
staying  in  the  house  from  the  day  before  Christmas  Eve 
until  after  Twelfth  Night.  None,  rich  or  poor,  was  to  be 
forgotten  or  left  out  in  the  cold.  Hilda,  assisted  by  Mary 
Russell,  was  already  occupied  in  writing  the  invitations 
for  a  ball,  to  which  all  the  hostesses  of  the  country-houses 
within  driving  distance  were  asked  to  bring  their  guests 
on  the  night  of  the  New  Year,  and  this  was  to  be  fol- 
lowed two  nights  afterwards  by  a  tenants'  ball,  to  which 
all  the  farmers  and  their  families,  the  tradespeople  of 
Trentford  (tlie  little  town  which  lay  in  the  valley  some 
five  miles  from  Abbotsbury),  the  servants,  keepers,  forest- 
ers, and  retainers  of  the  estate  generally  were  bidden, 
together  with  any  of  the  neighbouring  gentry  who  cared 
to  come  to  it.  Then  there  was  to  be  a  big  Christmas- 
tree  for  the  school-children,  a  dinner  for  the  cottagers 
and  their  wives  —  a  ten-days'  round  of  feasting  and  re- 
joicing, in  fact,  in  which  all  were  to  have  their  part 
according  to  time-honoured  custom  at  Abbotsbury. 

The  house-party  for  these  festivities  was  to  include 
relations  of  both  Hilda  and  her  husband,  and  among 
those  of  Lady  Redman,  Lady  Gwendolen  Cawarden  and 
Lady  INIerton  were  expected. 

Hilda  was  a  little  anxious  concerning  the  latter's  visit 
to  Abbotsbury.  Her  mother  had  already  stayed  a  few 
days  at  Abbotsbury,  soon  after  she  and  Walter  had 
come  there  at  the  conclusion  of  their  honeymoon.  Lady 
Gwendolen,  however,  seeing  that  her  daughter  was  evi- 


48  CASTING    OF    NETS 

dently  perfectly  happy  in  her  new  surroundings,  had 
wisely  refrained  from  questioning  her  as  to  whether  her 
husband  showed  any  signs  of  being  attracted  to  the 
Church. 

Hilda  knew  her  grandmother  too  well,  however,  not 
to  feel  sure  that  she  would  take  the  earliest  opportunity 
of  ascertaining  whether  St.  Joseph  had  been  doing 
what  was  expected  of  him  during  the  months  which 
had  elapsed  since  her  marriage.  It  had  been  an  easy 
matter  enough  to  respond  in  a  vague  manner  to  Lady 
Merton's  questions  on  the  subject  in  her  letters;  but 
Hilda  thought  it  more  than  probable  that,  in  her  zeal 
for  the  faith,  she  would  attempt  to  give  St.  Joseph 
some  assistance,  and  would  endeavour  herself  to  talk 
to  Walter  on  religious  topics. 

Lady  Redman  was  not  at  all  sure  what  the  effect  of 
such  an  attempt  might  be.  Hitherto  the  most  perfect 
confidence  had  existed  between  herself  and  her  husband. 
She  had  often  been  surprised  at  the  similarity  of  views 
which  they  possessed  on  many  subjects.  It  seemed  to 
her  to  be  extraordinary  that  their  convictions  regarding 
spiritual  things  should  be  so  widely  diverse,  and  that 
this  should  yet  create  so  little  impression  upon  their 
relations  to  each  other  in  their  daily  life.  Sometimes 
she  experienced  qualms  of  conscience,  and  wondered 
whether  she  were  not  allowing  her  love  for  her  husband 
to  supplant  that  other  love  which  her  training  had  taught 
her  to  believe  was  required  by  God  for  Himself  and  His 
Church.  She  knew  very  well  what  was  expected  of 
her  by  her  family,  and,  indeed,  by  her  co-religionists 
generally.      Lady    Gwendolen    had    been    thankful,    as 


CASTING    OF    NETS  49 

soon  as  her  mother  had  persuaded  her  into  giving  her 
consent  to  Hilda's  marriage  with  a  Protestant,  to  seize 
upon  that  which  Lady  Merton  had  impressed  upon  her 
was  its  great  redeeming  feature,  and  she  had  never 
ceased  to  remind  her  daughter  that  the  hitter  had  the 
grave  responsibility  of  being  chosen  to  bring  about  the 
return  of  an  ancient  family  to  the  faith  of  its  forefathers. 
Father  Galsworthy  had  talked  to  her  long  and  earnestly 
upon  this  responsibility,  and  upon  the  influence  which 
the  proper  use  of  it  on  her  part  might  bring  to  Catholicism 
in  England,  while  Lady  Merton  had  solemnly  told  her 
on  repeated  occasions  that  she  was  an  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  God  for  bringing  salvation  to  souls  yet  unborn. 

During  her  brief  engagement  it  had  seemed  to  Hilda 
that  to  be  an  instrument  of  any  such  purpose  was,  on 
the  whole,  an  enviable  position  of  which  any  Catholic 
girl  might  reasonably  be  proud.  She  had  been  brought 
up  in  an  atmosphere  of  which  religion  was  the  principal 
component  part.  It  had  appeared  to  her,  in  the  days 
immediately  preceding  her  marriage,  that  it  would  be  an 
easy  thing  to  win  her  lover  over  to  her  faith.  She  had 
expected,  so  entirely  had  religion  dominated  the  details 
of  her  life  at  Cawarden  —  the  Mass  in  the  chapel  which 
commenced  the  day,  the  recital  of  the  rosary  which  ended 
it,  the  visits  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  which  the  Ca- 
wardens  were  privileged  to  reserve  in  their  family  chapel 
—  that  there  could  be  no  intercommunion  of  ideas  and 
sympathies  from  which  a  common  bond  of  faith  in  the 
things  unseen  was  absent. 

When  Hilda  looked  back  upon  the  short  weeks  of  her 

married  life,  it  amazed  her,  and  at  times  almost  frightened 

4 


50  CASTING    OF    NETS 

her,  to  see  how  very  quickly  she  had  drifted  into  a  con- 
dition of  existence  in  whicli  not  only  did  these  things 
have  no  part,  but  she  did  not  feel  their  absence  as  she 
believed  she  ought  to  feel  it.  To  be  sure,  she  went  to 
Mass  on  Sundays  and  days  of  obligation,  and  otherwise 
conformed  to  the  observances  which  the  Church  required 
of  her ;  but  her  life  was  no  longer  the  same.  The  atmos- 
phere of  Cawarden  and  that  of  Abbotsbury  were  entirely 
different.  It  was  extraordinary,  she  thought,  that  she 
had  felt  the  difterence  so  little  —  that  Walter  and  she 
should  be  ,so  happy  together  that  what  had  seemed  at 
Cawarden  to  be  spiritual  necessities  of  life,  at  Abbotsbury 
should  have,  in  a  manner,  ceased  to  be  so.  Hilda  won- 
dered what  Father  Galsworthy  would  say  to  her  should 
she  seek  his  counsel  on  the  subject.  Her  conscience 
would  sometimes  assert  itself,  and  tell  her  that  this  put- 
ting off  of  the  work  which  her  confessor  and  her  relations 
had  told  her  was  appointed  for  her  to  do,  in  order  to 
avoid  risking  any  interruption  in  the  happiness  of  her 
life  with  Walter,  was  a  dereliction  from  duty  and  an 
act  of  moral  cowardice. 

It  had  been  a  relief  sometimes  to  talk  to  Mary  Russell 
on  religious  matters.  The  Rector's  wife  at  least  dis- 
played an  interest  in  her  faith,  although  it  was  an  an- 
tagonistic and  prejudiced  interest,  and  Hilda  found  this 
attitude  of  Mrs.  Russell's  an  easier  one  to  deal  with  than 
the  absolute  indifference  to  all  forms  of  dogmatic  belief 
which  seemed  to  form  an  impenetrable  barrier  against 
any  approach  to  discussion  with  her  husband  on  the  sub- 
ject. She  was  always  ready,  therefore,  to  answer  Mrs. 
Russell's  questions,  which,  as  their  intimacy  increased, 


CASTING    OF    NETS  51 

became  more  frequent  and  more  searching.  To  say  the 
truth,  Mary  Russell  displayed  an  ignorance  of  the  real 
tenets  of  the  Church  to  which  she  was  so  opposed  which 
astonished  Hilda  even  while  it  amused  her.  It  became 
quite  interesting  to  explain  to  her  inquiring  cousin  how 
completely  mistaken  she  was  in  many  of  her  most  cher- 
ished suppositions  respecting  the  belief  held  by  Roman 
Catholics. 

Though  Lady  Redman  possessed  neither  more  nor  less 
theological  knowledge  than  the  average  girl  brought  up 
and  educated  in  Catholic  surroundings,  she  found  that 
it  cost  her  no  great  effort  completely  to  demolish  more 
than  one  of  Mrs.  Russell's  strongest  positions,  inasmuch 
as  these  were  chiefly  based  on  stock  misrepresentations 
of  Catholic  doctrine  which  Mary  had  learned  in  the  first 
instance  from  her  governess,  and  in  later  life  from  con- 
troversial books  of  the  militant  school  of  Protestantism. 

Now,  however,  a  few  hours  would  bring  Lady  Merton 
and  various  other  relatives  to  Abbotsbury,  and  Hilda  felt 
that  they  would  certainly  try  to  make  her  give  some  ac- 
count of  her  stewardship  of  Walter  as  far  as  it  had  gone. 

She  wished  she  could  believe  that  the  happiness  of  her 
new  life  might  be  sufficient  to  justify  this  account  in  their 
eyes ;  but  the  letters  she  liad  received  since  her  marriage 
both  from  her  mother  and  from  Lady  Merton  convinced 
Lady  Redman  that  the  mere  fact  of  her  husband  and  her- 
self enjoying  mutual  happiness  would  not  be  admitted  as  a 
justification  for  her  having  placed  that  happiness  before 
any  other  consideration. 


CHAPTER  V 

CHRISTMAS  was  ushered  in  that  year  in  Stafford- 
shire by  genuine  Christmas  weather.  A  heavy  fall 
of  snow  had  been  succeeded  by  a  hard  frost.  The  great 
oaks  in  the  park  at  Abbotsbury  stood  out  majestically 
against  the  general  whiteness  around  them,  and  the  scarlet 
berries  of  the  old  holly-trees  shov/ed  like  little  stains  of 
blood  on  their  snow-laden  branches. 

It  was  nearly  five  o'clock,  and  Lady  Redman  was  await- 
ing the  arrival  of  some  of  her  guests  in  the  gallery  at 
Abbotsbury.  The  room  occupied  the  entire  length  of  the 
fagade  of  one  of  the  courtyards  around  which  the  house 
was  built.  The  green  painted  windows  were  uncurtained, 
and  the  light  from  inside  the  gallery  shone  through  the 
stained  glass,  casting  patches  of  colour  on  the  snow  be- 
neath them.  Within  the  room  all  was  warmth  and  com- 
fort. Three  large  fireplaces,  in  which  were  burning  great 
logs  of  wood,  mingled  with  blocks  of  Cannock  Chase  coal, 
warmed  it,  and  the  smell  of  the  burning  wood  mingled 
pleasantly  with  the  scent  of  orchids,  lilies  of  the  valley, 
and  other  flowers,  which  were  distributed  about  it. 

Lady  Redman,  as  she  sat  in  a  low  armchair  by  one  of 
the  fireplaces,  looked  in  every  way  a  woman  fitted  to  be 
the  mistress  of  so  stately  a  home  as  Abbotsbury,  Apart 
from  the  beauty  of  her  features  and  colouring,  and  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS 


S3 


warm  tints  of  the  auburn  hair  clustering  upon  the  small? 
high-bred-looking  head,  there  was  a  certain  grace  and  dig- 
nity about  Hilda  Redman  which  was  certainly  suitable  to 
her  surroundings.  She  had  none  of  the  spasmodic  and 
awkward  movements  of  the  arms  and  legs  affected  by  the 
modern  English  girl.  The  worn  expression  in  the  eyes, 
and  the  hard  lines  about  the  mouth,  which  make  the 
athletic  Englishwoman  of  two  or  three  and  twenty  of  to- 
day look  double  her  age  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence 
from  Hilda's  face,  though  she  could  take  part  in  all  the 
forms  of  outdoor  exercise  necessary  for  a  woman  to  indulge 
in.  There  was  a  certain  natural,  tranquil  air  about  Lady 
Redman  which  attracted  attention  quite  as  much  as  her 
undeniable  good  looks.  Like  the  portrait  of  some  well- 
bred  lady  of  a  past  generation,  she  was  as  a  pleasant  pic- 
ture upon  which  to  rest  the  eye,  and  Abbotsbury  as  a  frame 
suited  her  admirably. 

The  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  beating  dully  on  the  frozen 
snow  in  the  courtyard  below  roused  Hilda  from  a  reverie 
into  which  she  had  fallen  as  she  sat  opposite  the  fire, 
watching  the  colours  of  the  flames  as  they  licked  the 
great  wooden  logs.  With  a  little  sigh  she  rose  from  her 
chair  and  put  away  the  book  which  was  lying  open  in  her 
lap.  There  would  be  a  perpetual  arrival  of  guests,  some 
coming  from  the  north  and  some  from  the  south,  from 
five  o'clock  to  nearly  dinner-time,  for  there  was  to  be  a 
party  of  over  twenty  people  in  the  house  during  the 
coming  Christmas  festivities.  Lady  Merton  and  those 
of  the  visitors  who  were  coming  from  London  would  be 
the  earliest  to  reach  Abbotsbury,  and  Hilda  had  barely 
time  to  walk  to  the  end  of  the  gallery  when  the  doors 


54  CASTING    OF    NETS 

were  thrown  open  and  the  grooni-of-the-chambers  an- 
nounced them. 

Lady  Merton  was  the  first  to  enter  the  room,  and  she 
several  times  kissed  her  grand-daughter  affectionately. 

^  Such  a  pleasure/  she  murmured  sweetly,  ^  to  find 
my  dearest  Hilda  in  her  new  home ! '  and  she  cast  an 
appreciative  glance  around  her  over  Lady  Redman's 
shoulder. 

^  You  must  all  be  frozen,'  said  Hilda,  leading  the  way 
to  the  fire,  near  which  some  tea-tables  were  arranged. 
'I  hope  you  found  the  carriages  and  got  away  at  once. 
Trentford  Station  is  not  a  pleasant  place  on  such  an 
evening.' 

'We  were  not  kept  a  moment.  Lady  Redman,'  said 
Mr.  Shirley,  an  old  college  friend  of  Walter  Redman's, 
who  was  among  these  first  arrivals ;  '  and  we  found  the 
foot-warmers  which  had  been  so  thoughtfully  provided 
for  us  in  the  carriages  much  hotter  than  those  supplied 
by  the  railway  company.' 

*They  will  bring  tea  directly,'  said  Hilda,  helloing 
Lady  Merton  to  disengage  herself  from  the  folds  of  a 
large  fur  cloak.  'By  the  way,'  she  added,  smiling,  'I 
have  taken  it  for  granted  that  you  all  know  each  other.' 

Mr.  Shirley  looked  inquiringly  at  Lady  Merton,  with 
whom  he  had  driven  from  the  station. 

*We  made  acquaintance  over  the  foot-warmer,'  said 
the  latter  graciously,  '  but  I  do  not  think  that  we  know 
each  other's  names.' 

Lady  Eedman  laughed. 

'Then  you  shall  be  formally  introduced,'  she  replied. 
'  Mr.  Edward  Shirley  —  my  grandmother.  Lady  Merton.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  55 

Lady  Merton  made  a  dignified  aud  old-fashioned  bow, 
and  Mr.  Shirley  a  jerky  and  modern  one,  and  then  he 
looked  at  his  new  acquaintance  with  some  curiosity.  He 
had  often  heard  of  her,  and  Lord  Redman  had  told  Iiim 
that  he  would  meet  her  if  he  came  to  Abbotsbury  for 
Christmas.  He  had  never  suspected,  however,  that  the 
agreeable,  middle-aged  lady  with  whom  he  had  conversed 
during  the  four-mile  drive  from  the  station  was  Lady 
Merton.  He  had  expected,  from  all  that  he  had  heard, 
to  meet  a  rather  formidable  old  woman,  who  would  quote 
the  writings  of  the  early  Fathers  to  him  after  a  few 
minutes'  acquaintance. 

Lady  Merton,  on  her  part,  gave  the  faintest  possible 
start  of  surprise  when  she  heard  his  name,  and  looked 
at  her  grand-daughter. 

^Mr.  Shirley  the  —  writer?'  she  said,  pausing  a  little 
before  the  last  word. 

Hilda  looked  puzzled,  and  Mr.  Shirley  came  to  her 
assistance. 

'  Yes,'  he  replied  simply,  with  a  twinkle  of  amusement 
in  his  eyes. 

Hilda  felt  a  little  uncomfortable.  It  struck  her  that 
when  a  hostess  numbered  an  author  among  her  guests 
she  should  at  least  be  aware  of  the  fact. 

^  I  'm  afraid  you  must  think  me  very  ignorant,'  she 
said  to  him,  with  a  smile,  ^  but  Redman  never  told  me 
that  you  wrote ;  so,  you  see,  I  must  confess  that  my 
grandmother  asked  me  a  question  which  I  was  unable 
to  answer.' 

Mr.  Shirley  laughed  outright  this  time. 

*  My  dear  Lady  Redman,'  he  replied,  ^  I  should  have 


56  CASTING    OF    NETS 

been  very  much  surprised  to  find  that  you  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  fact.  I  fear  that  my  literary  efforts 
would  not  be  at  all  interesting  to  you,  and  Walter  prob- 
ably did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  allude  to  so  tire- 
some a  subject.' 

Lady  Merton  went  to  the  tea-table  and  sat  down. 

*  Where  is  Walter  ? '  she  asked  presently. 

*I  have  not  seen  him  since  luncheon/  replied  Hilda, 
busying  herself  with  pouring  out  tea.  '  He  went  off 
directly  afterwards  with  his  retriever,  saying  that  he 
should  go  down  the  river  and  look  for  wild  duck.  This 
frost  has  brought  us  a  quantity  of  them,  I  believe.  But 
he  will  be  here  very  soon,'  she  added. 

Before  long  more  guests  arrived,  including  Lady  Gwen- 
dolen Cawarden  and  her  son,  who  had  come  from 
Lancashire,  in  which  county  the  Cawarden  estates  were 
situated.  Then  Lord  Redman  came  in,  and  cordially 
welcomed  all  his  relations  and  friends.  He  appeared  to 
be  particularly  pleased  to  see  Mr.  Shirley.  The  two  had 
been  at  Oxford  together,  and  their  tastes  and  ideas  were 
very  similar.  Edward  Shirley,  however,  had  not  been 
born  to  succeed  to  a  peerage  and  thirty  or  forty  thousand 
a  year.  He  had  been  obliged  to  use  the  brains  and  the 
mind  which  had  been  given  to  him,  and,  though  Walter 
Redman's  natural  gifts  had  been  very  much  of  the  same 
calibre,  the  necessity  which  the  other  had  experienced 
of  having  continually  to  practise  his  powers  of  analysis 
and  criticism  had  caused  the  latter  to  develop  themselves 
and  win  for  their  owner  a  foremost  place  among  modern 
philosophical  and  critical  writers. 

Mr.  Shirley  was  Lord  Redman's  senior  by  some  years, 


CASTING    OF    NETS  57 

and  while  Walter  was  travelling  about  the  world  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  college  days,  Edward  Shirley  was  study- 
m<r  in  Berlin  and  learning  how  to  think  in  Paris.  The 
material  which  he  had  acquired  from  the  master-minds  of 
Germany  he  had  learned  how  to  assimilate  under  the 
fashioners  of  the  intellect  and  the  teachers  of  the  art  of 
consecutive  thought  of  France.  The  result  had  been  a 
combination  of  the  pitiless  powers  of  probing  the  depths 
of  human  thought  and  uncovering  its  humanity  belonging 
to  the  former  school,  and  the  keen  and  concise  reasoning 
and  orderly  application  of  the  reasoning  faculty  when  ac- 
quired which  are  the  brilliant  characteristics  of  the  latter. 
'  Why  did  you  never  tell  me  that  INIr.  Shirley  was  a  dis- 
tinf^uished  author,  Walter?'  said  Lady  Redman  to  her 
husband,  smiling.  'I  shall  have  fallen  in  his  estimation 
for  ever  in  consequence.' 

Lord  Redman  looked  a  little  embarrassed. 
'  Well,  really,'  he  replied,  after  a  pause,  '  I  did  not  tliink 
that  you  would  be  much  the  wiser  if  I  had  told  you.    Shir- 
ley doesn't  write  on  subjects  which  would  particularly 
interest  you.' 

'There,  Lady  Redman!'  exclaimed  Mr.  Shirley  trium- 
phantly ;  ^you  see  that  I  was  perfectly  right.  If  I  were  a 
novelist  or  a  newspaper  correspondent,  Redman  would 
have  told  you,  and  I  feel  sure  that  I  should  have  found  a 
copy  of  my  last  book,  with  the  leaves  duly  cut,  lying  in  a 
prominent  position  on  one  of  those  tables.' 

'You  are  only  making  matters  worse,'  said  Hilda,  laugh- 
ing. 'You  evidently  think  me  unworthy  of  any  deeper 
literature  than  fiction.  I  can't  say  that  either  you  or  my 
husband  are  very  complimentary,  T^Ir.  Shirley.' 


58  CASTING    OF    NETS 

The  latter  looked  round  the  circle  at  the  tea-table  with 
a  little  smile. 

'  Lady  Redman  is  rather  severe  on  special  correspondents, 
is  she  not  ? '  he  remarked. 

It  was  nearly  time  to  dress  for  dinner  before  all  the 
members  of  the  party  who  were  expected  that  evening 
had  arrived  and  everybody  had  been  shown  their  various 
rooms.  A  small  suite,  consisting  of  a  bed  and  dressing 
room  and  a  sitting-room,  had  been  apportioned  by  Hilda 
for  Lady  Merton's  use,  and  her  mother  occupied  the  rooms 
adjoining  these.  Lady  Merton  called  her  daughter  into 
the  sitting-room  while  their  respective  maids  were  com- 
pleting the  necessary  preparations  for  dressing  for  dinner. 
Lady  Gwendolen  saw  at  a  glance  that  something  had  oc- 
curred to  upset  her  mother.  Lady  Merton  was  not  a  per- 
son who  could  disguise  her  feelings  with  tliose  over  whom 
she  felt  she  could  dominate,  and  she  had  greater  confidence 
in  her  influence  over  her  daughter  than  she  had  ever  been 
able  to  feel  in  that  which  she  might  possess  over  her 
grand-daughter. 

She  closed  the  doors  of  the  sitting-room,  and  sat  down 
with  a  little  exclamation  of  disgust. 

^  Gwen,'  she  said  impressively,  '  I  am  deeply  distressed.' 

*  Distressed  ? '  asked  Lady  Gwendolen.  ^  About  what, 
mamma  ? ' 

*  Distressed  and  astonished,'  continued  Lady  Merton, 
ignoring  the  interruption  —  ^  distressed  that  Hilda  should 
be  kept  in  ignorance  by  her  husband  of  tlie  character  of  the 
friends  whom  he  asks  into  the  house ;  astonished  that  I 
should  be  invited  to  meet  such  individuals.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  stared  at  her  mother. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  59 

*  I  do  not  understand;  slic  said.     '  What  people  do  you 

mean  ? ' 

'  What  people  ? '  returned  Lady  Merton.  '  Why,  infidel 
writers  such  as  Mr.  Shirley,  a  man  who  spends  his  life  in 
attempting  to  lead  souls  astray  by  means  of  his  vile  calum- 
nies against  the  Church  —  against  all  religions,  indeed! 
And  Hilda  did  not  even  know  who  he  was!  Redman 
had  kept  it  from  her,  of  course.  His  books  are  on  the 
Index,'  she  concluded  in  a  lower  tone. 

Lady  Gwendolen  sighed. 

*  I  do  not  see  what  can  be  done,'  she  replied.  '  Mar- 
riage with  a  Protestant  must  necessarily  expose  Hilda  to 
meeting  irreligious  people.  It  is  one  of  the  things  I 
always  dreaded  for  her.  I  used  to  tell  you  so,  mamma, 
if  you  remember,  before  the  engagement  was  settled.' 

'Did  you,  Gwen  ?  I  dare  say,'  said  Lady  Merton 
indifferently.  'But  to  return  to  Mr.  Shirley:  he  is  a 
person  whom  no  Catholic  ought  to  be  asked  to  meet.' 

Lady  Merton  gave  a  defiant  breadth  to  the  'a'  in 
'  Catholic '  which  was  redolent  of  orthodoxy. 

'You  must  warn  Hilda  against  him,'  she  continued; 
'he  is  a  most  dangerous  man,  plausible,  clever — one 
of  Satan's  angels,  in  fact.' 

'She  can't  prevent  Walter  asking  his  friends,'  objected 
Lady  Gwendolen. 

Lady  Merton  folded  her  hands  together  on  her  lap. 
They  were  beautifully  shaped  hands,  smooth  and  rounded, 
not  at  all  the  hands  of  an  old  woman. 

'  She  must  be  made  to  see  that  it  is  her  duty  to  exert 
all  her  influence  in  order  to  eliminate  such  friends  from 
his  life,'  she  replied.     '  I  do  not  think  that  Hilda's  letters 


6o  CASTING    OF    NETS 

have  been  at  all  satisfactory  since  she  married,'  she  con- 
tinued. '  I  have  looked  in  vain  for  any  allusions  in  them 
to  what,  after  all,  ought  to  "be  the  great  object  of  her  exist- 
ence, and  the  questions  I  asked  her  in  my  letters  have 
always  remained  unanswered.' 

'  Hilda  is  perfectly  happy,  at  any  rate,'  said  Lady  Gwen- 
dolen. 'I  was  much  struck  by  that  when  I  was  last 
here.' 

'  Of  course  she  is  happy ;  she  has  everything  to  make 
her  so  from  a  worldly  point  of  view.  I  did  n't  suppose 
Redman  would  ill-treat  her  because  she  was  a  Catholic ; 
but  happiness  is  not  the  question.  I  fear  that  Hilda  has 
been  neglecting  the  duty  which  this  marriage  imposed 
upon  her.  However,  we  shall  very  soon  see  how  things 
are  progressing,  though  Mr.  Shirley's  presence  here  is 
not  an  encouraging  sign.  Yes,  Spencer,  I  am  coming 
directly.  A  quarter  to  eight,  is  it?  Gwen,  I  must  go 
and  dress,  and  so  must  you.  I  hope  you  will  take  an 
early  opportunity  of  telling  Redman  how  greatly  you 
deplore  that  Hilda  should  be  brought  into  contact  with 
such  a  person  as  Mr.  Shirley.     How  can  we  expect  our 

prayers  to  be  answered  if  we  allow  her  to  be  exposed 

No,  a  low  body,  of  course,  Spencer.  Gwen,  we  shall  be 
horribly  late  for  dinner ! '  and  Lady  Merton  disappeared 
into  the  dressing-room. 

The  following  day  was  Christmas  Eve.  The  cold  was 
keener  than  ever,  and  the  snow  had  been  frozen  to  a  crisp, 
dry  powder  which  was  pleasant  to  walk  and  drive  upon. 
It  had  been  arranged  that  the  men  of  the  party  were  to 
shoot  the  woods  at  Redman's  Cross  that  day,  and  though 
the  snow  would  interfere  w^ith  the  sport,  and  add  con- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  6i 

siderably  to  tlie  difficulties  of  beating  and  bringing  the 
game  properly  up  to  the  guns,  the  majority  of  the  men  to 
whom  Walter  Redman  had  put  the  choice  the  night  before 
in  the  smoking-room  of  adhering  to  the  arrangements  or 
deferring  them  until  the  weather  was  more  favourable  voted 
for  the  former.  Many  of  them  were  anxious  to  see  the 
old  deer-park  and  its  famous  oaks,  and  to  catch  a  glimpse, 
if  possible,  of  the  herd  of  wild  goats  which  roamed  about 
its  more  sequestered  spots,  and  which  had  been  a  feature 
of  the  place  since  the  time  of  Richard  II.,  who,  according 
to  certain  documents  preserved  in  the  muniment-room  at 
Abbotsbury,  had  presented  the  Redman  of  the  day  with 
its  progenitors,  in  acknowledgment  of  a  mighty  hunting 
at  Redman's  Cross  in  which  the  monarch  had  taken  part. 

The  brilliant  sunshine  and  crisp,  invigorating  air  made 
Hilda  suggest  that  such  of  the  ladies  as  cared  to  make 
the  expedition  should  drive  over  to  luncheon  with  the 
shooters.  The  plan  was  voted  a  delightful  one,  and 
even  Lady  Merton,  when  she  heard  that  the  meal  would 
be  eaten  in  the  house  of  the  head  forester,  a  portion  of 
which  was  fitted  up  as  a  shooting  lodge,  expressed  her 
determination  to  accompany  the  party. 

Abbotsbury  was  a  carefully  organized  establishment, 
and  Lord  Redman  liked  to  have  everything  well  done  in 
each  department  of  it.  The  shooters  breakfasted  to- 
gether, and  at  nine  o'clock  an  omnibus  and  a  pair  of 
powerful,  well-bred  bays  came  round,  and  Walter  mounted 
the  box  and  took  the  reins  himself.  A  little  before  twelve 
o'clock  an  open  break,  drawn  by  four  horses,  with  a 
couple  of  postilions,  clad  in  the  dark-blue  and  orange 
liveries  of  the  Redmans,  was  waiting  at  the  hall-door  for 


62  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Hilda  and  the  ladies,  and  a  landau  for  Lady  Merton  and 
any  other  guest  who  might  feel  the  cold  too  great  for 
driving  in  an  open  carriage. 

The  parks  of  Abbotsbury  and  Redman's  Cross  almost 
joined  each  other,  although  the  distance  between  the  two 
places  was  some  six  or  seven  miles.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, was  entirely  different  in  its  characteristics  from  the 
domain  which  surrounded  Abbotsbury.  The  carriages 
swept  between  two  ancient  stone  lodges,  ivy-clad  and 
battlemented,  with  deep  muUioned  vrindows,  and  sur- 
mounted by  the  goats  which  formed  the  crest  and  sup- 
porters of  the  Redman  family.  Once  within  the  gates, 
the  scenery  changed,  and  the  occupants  of  the  carriages 
looked  upon  a  tract  of  country  such  as  characterized  the 
England  of  Saxon  and  Norman  times.  Mighty  oaks, 
with  their  gnarled  and  wide-spreading  boughs,  stood  up 
gaunt  and  black  against  the  snow-covered  banks ;  and 
withered  bracken,  russet-coloured,  covered  the  ground, 
relieved  here  and  there  by  patches  of  vivid  scarlet,  where 
bramble-leaves  nestled  in  the  undergrowth.  Clumps  of 
venerable  hollies,  which  had  attained  to  the  size  and 
dignity  of  forest- trees,  held  the  snowflakes  sparkling  in 
the  sunlight  between  their  prickly  foliage,  and  every  now 
and  then  a  stag  or  a  fallow-deer  would  start  out  of  the 
fern  and  bound  away  to  closer  covert,  frightened  by  the 
thud  of  the  horses'  hoofs  and  the  ring  of  the  carriage- 
wheels  on  the  frozen  ground.  Away  in  the  hollow  a 
pool  of  water  stood,  wild  and  solitary-looking  as  that 
over  which  King  Arthur  passed  to  his  rest.  The  ghostly 
stems  of  stunted  birch-trees,  and  patches  of  heather, 
among  which  broods  of  black  game  still  lingered,  dotted 


CASTING    OF    NETS  6;^ 

its  shores,  and  tlic  wildfowl  llockcd  to  it  in  the  hard 
weather,  knowing  that  the  springs  by  which  it  was  fed 
prevented  it  from  ever  being  entirely  iee-bonnd. 

As  the  carriages  passed  through  the  glades  of  the  old 
chase,  Lady  Redman  pointed  out  some  of  the  more  famous 
oaks  to  her  guests  —  the  Beggar's  Oak,  which  was  men- 
tioned as  a  landmark  in  Domesday  Book ;  the  King's 
Oak,  and  the  Venison  Oak,  around  each  of  which  hung 
popular  legends  and  traditions  of  centuries  long  dead. 

It  was  nearly  one  o'clock  when  they  drove  up  to  the 
door  of  the  forest  lodge  at  Redman's  Cross,  where  the 
shooters  were  to  join  them  at  luncheon.  The  room  in 
which  the  table  was  laid  was  in  keeping  with  its  sylvan 
surroundings.  The  high  roof  was  supported  by  rafters  of 
ancient  oak,  fashioned,  perhaps,  from  fallen  limbs  of  the 
trees  which  the  party  had  just  looked  upon.  On  the  walls, 
panelled  with  the  same  timber,  hung  the  antlers  of  red 
and  fallow  deer,  and  the  curved  horns  and  wicked-looking 
skulls  of  departed  patriarchs  of  the  herd  of  wild  goats. 
Between  these  were  specimens  of  bows  of  yew  and  arrows 
of  box- wood,  which  had  laid  many  a  fat  buck  low  in  the 
olden  days,  when  a  man  in  those  parts  often  depended 
upon  his  woodcraft  for  his  supper. 

'  What  a  possession  ! '  exclaimed  Mr.  Shirley  enthusias- 
tically. He  did  not  shoot,  and  had  accompanied  the  occu- 
pants of  the  break,  which,  with  its  four  horses,  had  arrived 
at  the  lodge  before  the  more  sober  landau.  '  I  had  no 
idea,'  he  continued,  ^  that  so  perfect  a  bit  of  medieval  Eng- 
land was  in  existence,  and  still  less  that  it  was  to  be  found 
in  Staffordshire.' 

'  Staffordshire  is  not  all  Black  Country  and  Potteries,' 


64  CASTING    OF    NETS 

said  Hilda,  smiling.  '  I  wish  you  could  see  Redman  Cross 
in  autumn,'  she  added ;  '  the  snow  and  the  bare  trees  give 
it  quite  a  different  effect.' 

*  No  doubt,'  answered  Mr.  Shirley  ;  '  but  the  effect  suits 
it.  It  is  strong,  and  northern,  like  the  oak-trees.  Look 
at  those  men,'  he  continued,  '  coming  in  with  their  abomi- 
nable breech-loading  guns  under  their  arms.  If  I  were 
Redman,  I  would  insist  upon  everybody  who  shot  at  Red- 
man's Cross  using  those  bows  and  arrows.' 

'  I  am  afraid  the  game-larder  at  Abbotsbury  would  be 
very  empty,'  replied  Hilda,  laughing.  '  Are  you  so  reac- 
tionary in  your  ideas,  Mr.  Shirley  ? ' 

Her  husband  entered  the  room  at  this  moment,  followed 
by  the  other  guns. 

'  Shirley  a  reactionary  ! '  he  said.  ^  This  is  a  new  depart- 
ure, Ned,'  he  added,  laughing.  '  What  strange  sentiments 
have  you  been  expounding  ? ' 

^  You  are  all  to  put  away  your  guns  and  shoot  with  bows 
and  arrows  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,'  said  Hilda.  '  Mr. 
Shirley  is  shocked  at  anything  so  modern  as  breech-loaders 
being  used  at  Redman's  Cross.' 

'He  shall  try  his  fourteenth-century  w^eapons  on  my 
nineteenth-century  pheasants  after  luncheon  if  he  likes,' 
said  Lord  Redman. 

'  Reactionary  ideas,'  said  Mr.  Shirley,  '  are  very  seldom 
put  into  practice  by  those  who  advocate  them.  Look  at 
our  Socialists,  for  example.' 

The  luncheon  party  was  a  merry  one.  The  food  was  as 
good  and  varied  as  though  it  were  being  served  in  the 
dining-room  at  Abbotsbury ;  for  no  sooner  had  Hilda  sug- 
gested that  they  should  drive  over  to  Redman's  Cross  that 


CASTING    OF    NETS  65 

morning,  than  all  the  necessary  materials  for  the  meal  had 
been  despatched  thither,  together  with  one  of  the  cooks  to 
give  the  finishing  touches  to  the  diflferent  hot  dishes  of 
which  it  was  composed. 

Lady  Merton  sat  and  ate  her  luncheon  in  a  very  com- 
placent frame  of  mind.  Being  Christmas  Eve,  and,  there- 
fore, a  fast-day,  such  things  as  cutlets  and  game-pie  were 
forbidden  to  her ;  but  there  was  no  lack  of  maigre  dishes 
—  cunningly-prepared  eggs  and  varieties  of  fish  and  vege- 
tables —  which  were  a  very  acceptable  substitute  for  flesh 
meats.  She  expressed  her  fears  that  the  flavour  of  some 
of  these  had  been  assisted  by  an  irreligious  admixture  of 
stock,  but  Lord  Redman  assured  her  that  his  cook  was 
French,  and  he  felt  sure,  therefore,  incapable  of  so  inciting 
to  crime  the  Catholic  members  of  the  party,  for  whom 
maigre  fare  had  been  specially  ordered. 

Lady  Merton  had  been  mistress  of  a  large  establish- 
ment herself  during  her  husband's  life,  and  her  dower- 
house  of  Ware  w^as  admirably  managed.  She  appre- 
ciated the  organization  of  Abbotsbury,  and  the  scale  of 
ease  and  comfort  upon  wliich  everything  was  mounted. 
She  congratulated  herself,  as  she  glanced  at  Hilda  sitting 
smiling  and  happy  at  the  end  of  the  table,  on  ha\ing 
settled  her  grand-daughter  very  satisfactorily  in  the  world, 
and  she  was  well  aware  that,  had  it  not  been  for  her, 
Lady  Gwendolen  would  never  have  so  far  overcome  her 
objections  to  Hilda  marrj'ing  a  Protestant  as  to  sanction 
the  alliance  with  Lord  Redman,  notwithstanding  all  that 
the  latter  was  able  to  bestow  on  his  wife. 

Luncheon   over,    Lord   Redman   hurried    the   shooters 
away  to   their  work.     The   shortness   of  the   December 

5 


66  CASTING    OF    NETS 

afternoons  did  not  admit  of  any  time  being  wasted. 
Some  of  the  ladies  of  the  party  accompanied  the  guns 
to  their  respective  posts;  but  Hilda  disliked  looking  on 
at  shooting,  and  she  volunteered  to  show  Lady  Merton, 
Mr.  Shirley,  and  others  who  did  not  care  to  stand  about 
with  the  guns,  some  of  the  big  trees,  and  the  famous 
bloodhounds  in  the  kennels  behind  the  lodge. 

Lady  Merton  walked  rather  more  slowly  than  the 
rest,  and  her  grand-daughter  remained  with  her,  after 
directing  the  others  to  the  path  which  would  lead  them 
to  the  Beggar's  Oak. 

'  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  find  you  so  happy  and  with 
everything  that  this  world  can  give,  dear  Hilda,'  said 
Lady  Merton,  in  her  gentle,  caressing  tones,  as  Mr. 
Shirley  and  his  companions  disappeared  among  the 
trees. 

'  I  do  not  think  anybody  could  be  happier  than  I  am,' 
answered  Hilda  simply. 

'  Ah ! '  continued  Lady  Merton.  *  Happiness  is  a  great 
gift  —  a  most  undeserved  blessing,'  and  she  gave  a  little 
sigh;  'but,  my  dear  child,  it  has  its  dangers.' 

'  Its  dangers  ? ' 

'  Grave  dangers/  repeated  Lady  Merton.  '  We  are 
so  apt  to  allow  it  to  make  us  forget  our  responsibilities.' 

'  I  hope  Walter  and  I  shall  not  do  that,'  answered 
Hilda.  '  You  have  no  idea,'  she  continued,  '  how  keenly 
sensible  he  is  of  his  duties  as  a  large  proprietor,  and  how 
all  the  people  about  here  respect  and  love  him.  I  am 
only  anxious  to  do  my  part  as  his  wife,  though,  of  course, 
as  yet  I  feel  a  comparative  stranger  in  the  place.' 

'That  is  very  right  —  very  proper.     But   I   was   not 


CASTING    OF    NETS  67 

thinking  of  your  responsibilities  to  your  husband's  people, 
but  of  those  to  your  husband  himself.  I  eould  not  be 
happy  if  I  were  married  to  a  man  who  was  not  a  Catholic, 
Hilda/ 

*  But,'  said  Lady  Redman,  ^  we  had  both  taken  that 
question  into  consideration  before  we  married.' 

Lady  Merton  gave  her  a  little  glance  from  beneath 
half-closed  eyelids. 

*  Of  course.  But  what  are  considerations  in  compari- 
son to  the  safety  of  a  human  soul  ? '  she  replied,  after  a 
slight  pause. 

'  Let  us  call  them  promises  —  mutual  promises,  not 
considerations,'  said  Hilda. 

Lady  Merton  stooped  and  disengaged  a  bramble  from 
her  skirt. 

^  My  dear  Hilda,'  she  remarked,  *  call  them  what  you 
will,  but  the  fact  remains  that  a  wife  who  is  a  good  Cath- 
olic has  no  right  to  be  happy  so  long  as  her  husband 
remains  outside  the  Church.  Besides,  your  mutual  prom- 
ises, as  you  choose  to  call  them,  were  not  mutual  at  all. 
The  Church  demanded  that  your  husband  should  agree 
to  certain  stipulations.  Had  he  not  done  so,  your  mar- 
riage could  not  have  taken  place.  You  must  recollect 
that  those  stipulations  did  not  proceed  from  you,  they 
proceeded  from  the  Church.' 

'  Even  so,'  replied  Hilda,  ^  Walter  would  not  have 
agreed  to  them  had  I  not  promised  to  agree  to  his 
own.' 

*  You  agreed  —  yes,'  said  Lady  Merton  ;  '  but  with  the 
mental  reservation  —  a  very  necessary  one  under  the  cir- 
cumstances—  that  you  would  use  all  the  influence  you 


68  CASTING    OF    NETS 

might  possess  over  your  husband  to  compass  his  conver- 
sion in  the  future.' 

Hilda  was  silent.  She  could  not  deny  that,  during 
her  engagement,  she  had  always  clung  to  the  idea  that 
Walter's  conversion  would  be  effected  through  her  love 
for  him.  It  was  the  first  time,  however,  that  this  feeling, 
which  had  seemed  to  her  to  be  but  a  part  of  her  love,  had 
struck  her  in  the  light  of  a  mental  reservation. 

*  And  Walter  ? '  she  said,  at  length.  ^  He  might  lay 
claim  to  mental  reservations  on  his  side.' 

'  Exactly,'  answered  Lady  Merton.  ^  He  might  do  so. 
I  am  not  sure,'  she  abided  slowly,  Hhat  there  are  not 
already  signs  of  his  doing  so.  It  is  this  point  upon 
which  I  feel  it  is  my  duty  to  put  you  on  your  guard, 
Hilda.' 

'Oh!'  exclaimed  Hilda,  smiling,  'you  are  quite  mis- 
taken there.  Nobody  could  be  more  scrupulous  than 
Walter  in  allowing  me  full  liberty  to  practise  my  religion. 
Indeed,  the  subject  is  never  mentioned  between  us.  He 
goes  to  his  church  —  at  least,  he  sometimes  goes  —  and  I 
go  to  mine.' 

'That  is  just  the  danger.  The  subject,  you  say,  is 
never  mentioned  between  you.  You  resign  all  the 
influence  which  you  ought  to  have  —  which  it  is  your 
duty  to  have  —  over  your  husband.  But  are  you  sure  that 
he  is  not  all  the  while  exercising  a  silent  influence  over 
you,  and  causing  you  to  forget  the  duty  you  owe  to  God 
and  to  the  Church  ?  I  think  you  are  deceiving  yourself, 
Hilda.  You  talked  very  differently  before  your  marriage, 
when  we  spoke  of  these  things  together.' 

'I  cannot  think  what  you  mean/  said  Hilda  wonder- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  69 

ingly.  '  As  I  have  said  before,  Walter  is  most  careful 
never  to  allude  to  the  difference  in  our  beliefs.  Even  the 
Russells,  who  might  naturally  resent  the  fact  of  my  being 
a  Catholic,  never  interfere  with  me  in  any  way.  Indeed, 
Mary  Russell  is  the  only  person  to  whom  I  ever  open  my 
lips  on  the  subject,  and,  though  she  makes  no  secret  of  be- 
ing a  strong  Protestant,  I  think  that  she  is  in  reality  very 
much  interested  in  the  Church.  She  often  asks  me 
questions  about  it,  and  lately  I  lent  her  some  books. 
She  said  she  wished  to  read  something  on  our  side.* 

^  Poor  thing  ! '  said  Lady  Merton.  '  A  parson's  wife  is 
in  a  ridiculous  position.  What  was  it  Queen  Elizabeth 
said  to  the  wife  of  the  man  who  called  himself  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  ?  "  *  Madam  '  I  may  not  call  you, 
and  *  mistress  '  I  am  loath  to  call  you."  But,  to  return  to 
Walter,  I  would  much  rather  that  he  asked  you  questions 
as  Mrs.  Russell  does.  It  would  be  far  more  satisfactory, 
even  if  he  disagreed  with  your  answers.  I  confess  that 
I  distrust  this  method  of  apparently  ignoring  so  vital  a 
subject.  It  is  a  subtile  attempt  to  inoculate  you  with 
his  own  indifference  to  such  things.' 

Hilda  began  to  feel  uncomfortable.  Lady  Merton  was 
putting  into  words  ideas  which  her  own  conscience,  trained 
to  be  supersensitive  by  those  who  had  moulded  and  directed 
it  from  childhood,  had  been  suggesting  to  her  of  late. 

^  There  is  another  thing,'  pursued  Lady  JMerton,  appar- 
ently unconscious  of  her  grand-daughter's  embarrassment, 
'  which  makes  us  all  very  uneasy.  Walter  has  no  right  to 
expose  you  to  the  presence  of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Shirley. 
I  was  horrified  to  find  him  a  guest  in  your  house,  Hilda.* 

*  He  is  a  great  friend  of  my  husband,'  said  the  latter, 


yo  CASTING    OF    NETS 

^  but  I  hardly  know  him.  Walter  introduced  him  to  me 
in  London  before  we  were  married.  As  you  heard,  I  did 
not  even  know  that  he  wrote.' 

'No/  replied  Lady  Merton.  'That  is  what  I  cannot 
forgive  your  husband.  He  should  have  told  you,  and  at 
least  have  given  you  the  option  of  declining  to  know  a 
man  whose  writings  have  been  condemned  as  pernicious 
and  immoral,  and  whom  no  Catholic  ought  to  meet.' 

'  I  will  never  interfere  with  Walter's  friends,  or  refuse 
to  receive  them,'  said  Lady  Redman,  speaking  with  more 
determination  than  she  had  hitherto  done. 

Lady  ]\Ierton's  eyes  drooped,  with  a  peculiar,  depre- 
cating expression  acquired  in  the  course  of  periodical 
retreats  in  conventual  establishments. 

'  Ah,  well,  my  dear  cliild,'  she  replied  gently,  '  I  have 
done  my  duty  in  warning  you  of  what  I  believe  to  be 
dangers  and  troubles  in  store  for  you.  God  grant,'  she 
continued  in  a  lower  tone,  'that  you  may  some  day 
realize  more  fully  than  you  seem  to  do  at  present  that 
in  your  hands  lies  the  possibility  of  saving  the  soul  of 
the  husband  you  profess  to  love,  and,  through  his  ex- 
ample, perhaps  of  numberless  others.  Come,'  she  added, 
'  let  us  walk  a  little  quicker  and  overtake  the  others,  now 
that  we  have  had  our  little  talk.' 


CILVPTER  VI 

'  T^ROFESSIONAL  saints  arc  very  tiresome  people,' 

J7  siii^  Lord  Kednian,  pocketing  the  red  ball  with 
somewhat  unnecessary  violence. 

'  I  have  always  thought  so,'  replied  Mr.  Shirley.  '  Ama- 
teur sinners  are  much  more  interesting.' 

The  two  were  alone  together  in  the  billiard-room  at 
Abbotsbury,  the  remainder  of  the  men  having  gone  to 
bed,  leaving  them  to  finish  their  game. 

Lord  Redman  spotted  the  red  and  continued  his  break. 

*  I  wish  you  would  tell  my  respected  grand  mother-in- 
law  so,'  he  said  presently,  with  a  slight  laugh. 

^  I  am  afraid  it  would  have  no  effect,'  remarked  Mr. 
Shirley.  'Lady  Merton  regards  me  as  the  most  profes- 
sional of  sinners.  I  believe  that  she  would  like  to  sprinkle 
me  with  holy- water.  But  why  are  you  annoyed  with 
her?' 

'  Because  she  is  unable  to  forget  her  profession,'  an- 
swered Lord  Redman. 

Mr.  Shirley  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

*  She  has  a  reputation  to  keep  up,'  he  said  dryly. 

'  I  wish  tliat  she  would  give  herself  a  holiday  at  Ab- 
botsbury,' replied  Lord  Redman.  '  "What  an  extraordi- 
nary thing  religion  is,  Xed  ! '  he  continued.  '  Why  can't 
people  let  each  other  alone  about  it,  and  not  think  that 


72  CASTING    OF    NETS 

they  are  the  only  ones  on  terras  of  particular  intimacy 
with  the  Almighty?' 

'  For  a  very  simple  reason  :  The  Almighty  is  everyone's 
own  particular  creation.  The  man  who  makes  the  pup- 
pet surely  has  the  right  to  pull  the  wires.' 

Walter  Redman  laughed. 

^  Oh,'  he  returned,  '  I  know  that  you  are  a  hopeless 
person  to  talk  to  on  these  subjects.  You  are  on  so  serene 
a  level  of ' 

^  Of  what?' 

^  Well,  upon  my  word,  I  hardly  know !  Atheism,  I 
suppose.' 

'  By  no  means,'  said  Mr.  Shirley  emphatically.  '  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  atheism  in  the  world.  Those  who 
profess  it  make  a  deity  of  themselves ;  and  this  deity 
which  they  make  is  neither  more  nor  less  a  true  god 
than  the  deity  of  the  Churches.  He  remains  pitiably 
human.' 

'  I  am  afraid  you  have  been  giving  Lady  Merton  some 

of  your  sentiments.' 

'No;  I  never  talk  about  these  things  to  strangers. 
Lady  Merton  attacked  me  on  the  subject  of  my  writings 
yesterday.  I  told  her  that,  as  they  had  been  placed  upon 
the  Index,  I  was  surprised  she  had  read  them.' 

'What  did  she  say?' 

'Well,'  replied  Mr.  Shirley,  smiling.  'I  don't  think 
she  liked  the  remark.  She  told  me,  however,  that  she 
had  a  dispensation  to  read  works  condemned  by  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Index.  It  was  a  privilege,  so  she  assured 
me,  granted  to  her  as  a  student  and  writer  on  questions 
of  faith.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  73 

'Lady   Mertoii    has    a   very   vivid    imagination,'   said 

Walter. 

'  So  I  have  always  understood.  I  suppose  that  many 
very  religious  people  have.  I  soon  learned,  however,  that 
she  had  not  availed  herself  of  her  dispensation  so  far  as  I 
was  concerned,  but  only  of  her  imagination.  lias  she  been 
complaining  of  me  ? '  added  Mr.  Shirley,  laughing. 

'Of  you?  No;  but  of  me  for  exposing  her  grand- 
daughter to  such  dangerous  influences  as  those  which  she 
thinks  you  exercise.  Shall  I  be  frank  with  you,  Ned? 
My  relations-in-law  have  made  a  little  scene.  They  say 
that  I  purposely  kept  my  wife  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that 
you  are,  as  they  express  it,  an  infidel  writer,  and  that  I  am 
interfering  with  her  faith,  in  an  indirect  but  none  the  less 
subtile  manner,  by  bringing  her  into  contact  with  people 
holding  your  views.' 

Mr.  Shirley  smiled.  '  Under  the  circumstances,'  he  said, 
'  the  best  thing  I  can  do  is  to  remove  my  dangerous  per- 
son from  your  house  as  soon  as  possible.' 

Walter  Redman's  face  assumed  the  determined  expres- 
sion characteristic  of  some  of  the  family  portraits  at 
Abbotsbur}^ 

'No!'  he  replied  decidedly.  'No,  Ned.  You  will 
oblige  me  very  much  by  doing  nothing  of  the  sort.' 

'  But  Lady  Redman ' 

'  Is  not  her  grandmother.  My  wife  has  not  alluded  to 
the  subject  to  me,  nor  I  to  her.' 

Mr.  Shirley  was  silent  for  a  few  moments. 

'  Lady  Redman  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  —  well,  a 
bigoted  person,'  he  said  presently.  '  I  have  been  rather 
surprised,  knowing  the  surroundings  in  which  she  must 


74  CASTING    OF    NETS 

have  been  brought  up,  to  find  a  certain  breadth  of  vision 
in  her.  We  have  had  some  conversation  together,  and  she 
interested  me  very  much.  Your  wife  is  a  person  who 
thinks,  Walter.' 

Walter  Redman  shrugged  his  shoulders  a  little  im- 
patiently. 

^  Yes,'  he  answered,  ^  she  thinks.  But  does  it  not  strike 
you  as  unfortunate  that  circumstances  should  oblige  her  to 
be  silent  to  her  husband  concerning  her  thoughts  on  cer- 
tain matters  ? ' 

'  The  circumstances  apply  equally  to  yourself.' 

'  They  do,  and  that  is  the  worst  of  it.  Our  damned  re- 
ligions stand  in  the  way  of  any  interchange  of  ideas  on  the 
more  serious  things  of  life.' 

Mr.  Shirley  looked  keenly  at  his  companion.  He  was 
not  a  married  man  himself,  nor  even  one  who  had  experi- 
enced the  necessity  of  the  presence  in  his  life  of  another 
mind  with  which  his  own  could  freely  mingle.  He  had 
sought  for  his  intercommunion  of  ideas  rather  among 
his  books  and  his  studies  than  among  beings  of  flesh  and 
blood.  Nevertheless,  his  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and 
a  certain  quick  sympathy  with  its  needs  and  cravings  which 
a  profound  observation  of  humanity  had  caused  him  to 
possess,  gave  him  an  instant  clue  to  the  state  of  mind 
which  he  was  convinced  had  prompted  Walter  Redman's 
last  remark. 

^  Already,'  he  said  to  himself  '  As  Lady  Redman  has 
made  no  objection  to  my  being  a  guest  in  her  house,  I 
should  certainly  not  wish  to  curtail  my  visit,'  he  observed, 
after  a  pause.  ^  To  do  so  would  be  to  admit  the  right  of 
others  to  interfere  between  you  and  your  wife.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  75 

Lord  Redman  nodded. 

*  I  am  glad  that  you  understand,'  he  said. 

Mr.  Shirley  went  to  a  little  table,  and  mixed  himself  a 
whisky-and-soda  with  some  deliberation. 

'  My  dear  Walter,'  he  said,  '  it  is  always  a  delicate 
matter,  even  for  an  old  friend,  to  talk  to  a  man  about 
his  wife,  but  you  have  in  a  manner  encouraged  me  to 
do  so.' 

'  Go  ahead,  and  don't  apologize,  Ned ! '  said  Lord 
Redman,  knocking  the  balls  about  the  billiard-table. 

'  Well,  to  speak  plainly,  I  think  that  you  are  uncon- 
sciously drifting  into  a  rather  critical  position.  In  the 
first  place,  you  have  married  a  woman  who  is  very  fond 
of  you.' 

*  As  I  am  of  her.' 

'  I  know  it.  You  both  of  you  thought  when  you 
married  that  your  mutual  affection  would  neutralize  con- 
flicting opinions  upon  what  are  called  religious  matters. 
It  doesn't.' 

'  It  should  do  so,  were  it  not  for  outside  interference, 
which,  as  you  implied  just  now,  cannot  be  admitted.' 

'  No  —  pardon  me  —  it  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  It 
will  have  the  reverse  effect.' 

'  What  do  you  mean,  Ned  ? ' 

'  Precisely  what  I  say.  Your  very  love  for  each  other 
will  create  the  critical  position  for  you  both  in  which  you 
\vill  find  yourselves  placed  before  long.  The  outside 
interference  to  which  you  allude  will  merely  be  a  second- 
ary factor  in  the  bringing  about  of  that  position.  Take 
my  advice,  Walter :  should  difficulties  arise  between  you, 
look  in  the  right  quarter  if  you  wish  to  discover  both 


76  CASTING    OF    NETS 

their  origin  and  their  solution,  but  do  not  expect  to  find 
the  latter  in  your  love  for  each  other.' 

^  Then  where  should  I  look  for  it  ? ' 

'  In  yourself  partly,  but  principally,  unless  I  am  much 
mistaken,  in  your  wife.' 

'Is  not  that  something  of  a  truism?'  asked  Walter, 
smiling. 

'  I  believe  not.  Lady  Redman  is  a  woman  who,  sooner 
or  later,  will  think  for  herself.  Up  to  now  others  have 
thought  for  her ;  that  is  the  system  of  Roman  Catholicism 
—  the  system  which  has  kept  the  nations  which  are 
under  its  influence  at  a  dead-level  of  ignorance  and 
intellectual  stagnation,  even  though  individuals  belonging 
to  those  nations  have  emancipated  themselves  from  its 
yoke.' 

'But  you  are  going  too  fast,  Ned,'  objected  Lord 
Redman.  'You  assume  that  Hilda  has  a  desire  to 
exercise  her  own  private  judgment.  I  should  be  very 
glad  to  think  that  the  necessity  for  doing  so  would  ever 
present  itself  to  her.  I  am  afraid,  on  the  contrary,  that 
the  old  hereditary  ties  and  influences  will  be  strong 
enough  to  crush  any  incipient  desire  which  she  might 
have  to  think  for  herself.  It  may  be  my  imagination,'  he 
continued,  lighting  a  fresh  cigar,  '  but  during  the  last  few 
days,  since  her  family  have  been  round  her,  I  have  thought 
that  Hilda  seemed  a  little  grave  and  preoccupied,  as 
though  something  were  troubling  her.  I  should  not  have 
regarded  it,  probably,  had  it  not  been  that,  as  I  told  you. 
Lady  Merton  considered  it  necessary  to  expostulate  with 
me  on  your  presence  here,  and  to  tell  me  that  Hilda 
should  have  been   informed   that    you   were  —  yourself. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  77 

She  even  went  so  far  as  to  hint  that  I  was  not  acting 
up  to  my  promises  not  to  interfere  with  her  grand- 
daughter's religion,  and  Lady  Gwendolen  agreed  with 
her.' 

^But  Lady  Redman?'  asked  Mr,  Shirley.  *You  say 
that  she  has  said  nothing  to  you  of  all  this  ? ' 

^  Not  a  word.  But,  putting  two  and  two  together,  it 
is  i)robable  that  these  women  have  been  talking  to  her, 
and  if  so,  that  would  account  for  the  worried  look  I  have 
noticed  in  her  face  during  the  last  day  or  two.' 

Mr.  Shirley  smiled. 

'I  think,'  he  said,  Hhat  Lady  Redman  took  the  first 
step  towards  liberty  of  thought  when  she  decided  to 
marry  you.  I  remember  you  told  me  how  greatly  opposed 
her  family  were  to  the  idea,  and  that  in  spite  of  this 
opposition  she  persisted  in  her  determination.* 

'  Yes  ;  but  without  Lady  Morton's  assistance  the  mar- 
riage would  never  have  taken  place.  That  is  the  odd 
part  of  it,'  added  Walter.  ^  She  smoothed  away  all  the 
difficulties  which  the  Cawardens  made  before  sanctioning 
our  engagement,  and  now  that  we  are  married  it  looks 
very  much  as  though  she  were  the  first  person  on  my 
wife's  side  to  ti7  and  make  mischief.  As  for  my  not 
having  told  Hilda  all  about  you,  that  is  a  ridiculous 
grievance  to  bring  forward.  I  did  not  do  so  because  I 
should  have  had  to  talk  upon  subjects  which  we  were 
both  pledged  to  avoid.  Moreover,'  continued  Lord  Red- 
man, ^  if  my  wife  chose  to  invite  a  Bishop  to  Abbotsbury 
I  should  have  no  objection.  We  are  each  absolutely  free 
so  far  as  the  choice  of  our  friends  is  concerned.' 

'  From  all  I  have  ever  heard  of  Lady  ^lerton,'  obser\^ed 


78  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Mr.  Shirley,  ^I  should  say  that  she  has  invariably  kept 
one  eye  upon  the  next  world  and  the  other  upon  eldest 
sons  in  this.  I  am  not  at  all  surprised  at  her  having 
done  her  best  to  further  your  engagement.  She  allowed 
one  of  her  daughters  to  marry  that  drunken  brute,  Wear- 
mouth.  A  mother  who  could  have  done  that  would  give 
her  daughter  to  any  man  who  had  enough  to  offer.' 

*  But  the  Duchess  of  Wearmouth  was  not  a  Catholic. 
I  do  not  see  her  motive  for  worrying  Hilda  now  that 
we  are  married/  persisted  Walter. 

'  It  is  because  you  are  married,'  returned  Mr.  Shirley 

briefly. 

Lord  Redman  swore  a  little  oath  under  his  breath. 

'  Well;  he  said,  '  I  mean  to  put  a  stop  to  anything  of 
that  kind  at  the  beginning.  Hilda  was  perfectly  happy 
till  her  relations  came  here,  and,  let  alone,  she  would  be 
so  always.' 

'  Are  you  so  sure  of  that  ? ' 

^  As  sure  as  I  am  of  my  own  happiness.' 

'  I  think  you  are  mistaken,'  replied  Mr.  Shirley  quietly, 
'and  if  I  were  you  I  should  not  attempt  to  interfere 
between  your  wife  and  her  family.' 

'  But  that  is  absurd,  my  dear  fellow.' 

'  Not  so  absurd  as  it  seems.  We  have  agreed  that  Lady 
Redman  is  a  woman  who  thinks  on  certain  matters  ? ' 

'  Yes.' 

'  Well,  let  her  think.' 

'  I  don't  know  what  you  are  driving  at,  Ned.' 

'  I  will  try  to  explain.  Your  wife  is  not  like  her  aunt, 
the  Duchess  of  Wearmouth  ;  she  married  you  because 
she  loved  you.     It  is  evident  that  Lady  Merton's  world- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  79 

lincss  could  liavc  had  no  influence  over  her  in  her  choice 
of  a  husband.' 

*  No,  I  am  thankful  to  say.' 

'But  yet,'  continued  Mr.  Shirley,  'Lady  Merton  in  a 
way  brought  about  your  marriage.  I  am  afraid,  Walter,' 
he  continued,  with  an  amused  look,  '  that  her  ladyship's 
other  eye  was  upon  you  —  the  heavenly  one,  I  mean. 
She  had  marked  you  down  for  conversion,  hence  her  good- 
will towards  her  grand-daughter's  affection  for  you.' 

Walter  burst  out  laughing. 

'  But,  my  dear  fellow,  nothing  could  have  been  clearer 
than  my  explanations  on  that  subject.  The  whole  family, 
including  Hilda  herself,  knew  perfectly  well  that  the 
latter  was  not  marrying  a  staunch  Protestant  who  might 
be  converted,  but  a  nondescript  kind  of  article  like 
myself.' 

'  That  would  make  no  diff'erencc.  Indeed,  it  would  be 
a  greater  triumph  for  the  Church  to  secure  you.  Listen 
to  me,  Walter.  Let  your  wife  think.  The  more  her 
Catliolic  relations  attempt  to  interfere  with  her,  the 
more  she  will  be  divided  between  her  love  for  you  and 
her  wish  to  be  loyal  to  your  mutual  compact  on  the  one 
side,  and  her  devotion  to  her  Church  on  the  otiier.  Any 
endeavour  on  your  part  to  combat  their  interference 
would  weaken  your  position.  Remember  tliat  Lady  Red- 
man will  have  to  struggle  against  very  complex  feelings. 
Who  knows  that  this  mental  struggle  has  not  already 
begun — that  it  did  not  begin,  indeed,  directly  you  were 
man  and  wife  ?  She  is  a  Catholic,  fresh  from  the  peculiar 
psychological  surroimdings  of  that  religion.  You  are  not 
dealing  with  her   mind  as   yet;  you  are  dealing  with  a 


8o  CASTING    OF    NETS 

mould,  fashioned  partly  by  heredity,  partly  by  the  priests. 
The  belief  in  that  God  which  the  latter  have  created,  and 
in  the  supernatural  beings  around  Him,  is  to  her  the 
pivot  of  her  existence.  To  please  Him  is  to  secure  ever- 
lasting happiness ;  to  offend  Him,  everlasting  pain.' 

*  You  are  giving  God  a  bad  character,'  said  Lord  Red- 
man. 

'  I  am  giving  Him  the  character  which  the  priests  attrib- 
ute to  him,'  returned  Mr.  Shirley.  '  They  are  unable  to 
make  a  god  except  in  their  own  image.  He  is  not  your 
God,  nor  mine,'  he  added  more  gently  ;  '  but  let  that  pass. 
What  I  was  going  to  say  was :  Think  how  cruel  a  depri- 
vation it  must  be,  to  a  mind  thus  trained,  to  be  debarred 
from  all  intercourse  on  such  vital  subjects  with  the  being 
it  loves.  Why  it  must  be  a  deprivation  even  to  you, 
Walter;'  and  Mr.  Shirley  gave  his  companion  a  quick, 
penetrating  glance,  which,  nevertheless,  had  something 
very  kindly  in  its  expression. 

Lord  Redman  did  not  meet  his  gaze.  '  You  ought  to 
be  a  married  man,  Ned,'  he  said,  with  a  short  laugh. 

Mr.  Shirley  lighted  a  candle  preparatory  to  going  up- 
stairs to  his  room. 

'  It  is  rather  presumption  on  my  part  to  offer  you  advice 
as  to  how  to  conduct  your  own  domestic  affairs/  he  re- 
plied, witli  a  smile. 

^  I  believe  that  your  advice  is  very  sound,'  said  Walter. 
'  I  am  not  sure,'  he  added  slowly,  '  but  I  think  so.  Time 
will  show.' 

'Yes,  time  will  show.  But,  in  the  meanwhile,  be 
patient,  Walter.  You  will  have  to  watch  the  struggle 
going  on  in  your  wife's  mind.     Devoted  to  her  Church, 


CASTING    OF    NETS  8i 

and  believing,  as  the  priest  and  her  edueation  have  taught 
her,  that  in  it  ak)ne  is  to  be  found  the  Divine  truth,  the 
consciousness  that  her  husband  is  outside  that  Church 
\n\\  be  an  ever-present  sorrow  to  her.  Devoted  to  you, 
learning  every  day  to  know  you  better,  and  to  realize  that 
your  happiness  and  peace  of  mind  are  not  dependent 
upon  dogmatic  faith,  she  will  shrink  from  the  responsibil- 
ity of  introducing  disturbing  elements  into  that  happiness/ 

^But  if  the  action  of  others  compels  her  to  place 
the  supposed  interest  of  my  soul  before  any  other  con- 
sideration ? ' 

jMr.  Shirley  paused  in  his  walk  towards  the  door  of  the 
billiard-room. 

*  Ah ! '  he  replied  slowly,  ^  that  will  be  the  crisis  of  the 
struggle.  We  are  hardly  able  to  determine  the  force  of 
the  influences  which  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  your 
wife.  Remember  that  behind  her  may  be  ranged  all  that 
subtle  psychological  power  which  the  Roman  Church  so 
well  knows  how  to  wield  —  the  exploitation  of  that  ener- 
vating fear  of  the  unknown  which  is  implanted,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  in  us  all.  There  is  one  force,  and  one  only, 
which  may  neutralize,  and  eventually  overpower,  the  lat- 
ter, but  the  process  will  be  a  very  disturbing  one.  Not 
the  least  conflicting  element  in  it  will  be  that  very  one  to 
which  you  have  both  of  you  looked  as  a  certain  resolvent 
of  all  your  difficulties.' 

'  I  understand,'  said  Walter,  ^  but,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
you  began  by  saying  that  I  was  not  to  look  to  this  element 
for  a  solution  of  any  problems  which  might  arise  in  our 
lives  owing  to  the  fact  of  Hilda  being  a  Catholic  and  my- 
self a  nominal  Protestant.' 

6 


82  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  You  are  not  mistaken ;  I  did  say  so.  The  solution,  if 
it  comes  at  all,  will  do  so  through  the  gradual  emancipa- 
tion of  your  wife's  powers  of  thought  and  judgment  from 
the  ties  by  which  they  have  hitherto  been  bound.  Your 
mutual  love  will  be  an  all-important  factor  in  promoting 
this  emancipation,  but,  in  the  first  instance,  it  will  retard 
it.  The  influences  which  will  be  at  work  upon  Lady  Red- 
man will  quickly  seize  upon  her  love  and  make  it  serve 
their  own  end.  That  is  why  I  preach  patience  to  you,' 
added  Mr.  Shirley  —  'patience  and  reliance,  not  upon 
afibction  only,  but  still  more  upon  that  emancipation  from 
mental  bondage  without  which  Lady  Redman's  love  could 
only  have  the  eff"ect  of  widening  the  gulf  that  you  both  feel 
exists  between  you.' 

Lord  Redman  looked  at  his  friend  attentively. 

'  What  leads  you  to  suppose  this  ? '  he  asked  after  a 
pause.  ^  You  have  only  been  three  or  four  days  in  the 
house  with  Hilda  —  not  long  enough  to  have  learned  so 
much  of  her  character.' 

Mr.  Shirley  smiled. 

^You  have  put  two  and  two  together  about  Lady 
Merton,'  he  replied,  'and  I  have  done  the  same  thing 
about  Lady  Redman.  As  I  told  you,  we  have  had  some 
conversation  together,  and,  though  of  course  she  did  not 
talk  to  me  about  these  things,  I  believe  I  have  some  sort 
of  idea  as  to  her  state  of  mind.  Besides,  your  cousin,  Mrs. 
Russell,  has  spoken  a  good  deal  to  me  of  Lady  Redman. 
It  appears  that  they  are  great  friends,  and  I  think  per- 
haps the  latter  has  felt  she  could  speak  more  freely  to 
Mrs.  Russell  on  certain  matters  than  to  anybody  else  at 
Abbotsbury.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  83 

'  Well,'  said  Walter,  *  I  suppose  things  will  settle  them- 
selves somehow,  but  I  don't  like  to  feel  that  all  these  old 
women,  egged  on  by  their  confessors,  may  be  putting  their 
heads  together  to  make  my  wife  unhappy,  hoping  thereby 
to  make  a  Catholic  of  me.  I  will  take  your  advice,  how- 
ever, and  do  nothing.  Come  Ned,'  he  added,  turning  out 
the  lights  over  the  billiard-table,  *let  us  go  to  bed,  and 
send  dogma  to  the  devil,  with  whom  I  verily  believe  it 
originates.' 

The  two  men  went  upstairs  together,  and  Lord  Redman 
bade  Mr.  Shirley  good-night  and  went  to  his  own  rooms. 

Mr.  Shirley  sat  himself  down  opposite  the  fire  in  his 
bedroom,  which  the  keen  frost  without  was  causing  to 
glow  hot  and  fiercely. 

*  Walter  will  need  all  his  skill  to  steer  a  safe  course 
ahead,'  he  said  to  himself.  '  The  priests  have  their  eyes 
upon  Abbotsbury,  and  they  won't  care  about  having  to 
wait  until  Walter's  son  succeeds,  if  he  has   one.     The 

son Ah  !  there  's  where  the  rub  will  come,  though 

it  was  no  good  saying  anything  to  Walter  about  it  now. 
"  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof."  '  And  then 
he  fell  into  a  meditation. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  ball  given  to  the  tenantry  and  principal  employes 
of  the  Abbotsbury  estate  concluded  the  round  of 
Christmastide  festivities  at  which  Lord  and  Lady  Redman 
had  so  hospitably  entertained  their  neighbours  of  every  con- 
dition of  life.  The  Barons'  Hall  blazed  with  the  light  of 
innumerable  wax-candles ;  garlands  of  holly  and  mistletoe 
adorned  the  dark  oaken  roof,  and  twined  between  its 
massive  beams  and  rafters ;  while  King  John,  pen  in  hand, 
with  the  scroll  of  Magna  Charta  before  him,  scowled  upon 
the  varied  throng  of  dancers  on  the  floor  beneath. 

The  upper  domestics  of  Abbotsbury  moved  pompously 
through  the  crowd,  fearful  lest  they  should  lose  for  a 
moment  the  sense  of  their  own  dignity  and  importance 
by  mingling  with  their  subordinates,  their  whole  manner 
clearly  expressing  the  fact  that  their  affability  was  a  tribute 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion,  and  was  not  to  be  pre- 
sumed upon  or  misinterpreted.  The  trades-people  of  Trent- 
ford,  sleek  and  prosperous-looking,  with  black  coats  closely 
buttoned,  and  tight  shoes  written  all  over  their  counte- 
nances, stood  by  their  wives  and  watched  their  daughters 
going  '  down  the  middle  and  up  again '  with  the  young 
farmers  in  ^  The  Triumph,'  or  threading  the  intricate  mazes 
of  the  'Corn  Riggs.'  Then  there  were  groups  of  local 
clergy  and  their  better  halves,  and  the  local  representatives 


CASTING    OF    NETS  85 

of  law,  finance,  and  medical  science.  Wandering  from  one 
to  the  other  of  these  groups  was  the  wife  of  the  well-to-do 
draper  in  the  market-place,  who  had  built  himself  a  villa 
on  the  Stafford  Road,  which,  on  the  strength  of  two 
recently-planted  Wellingtonias,  bore  the  name  of  *  The 
Ehns '  painted  in  (jothic  characters  on  its  front  gate. 
*  My  pa,'  Mrs.  Greensmith  was  in  the  habit  of  informing 
her  acquaintances,  '  was  a  medical  man ' ;  and  so,  on  public 
occasions,  she  made  a  point  of  asserting  her  right  to  enter 
the  professional  circles  of  Trentford. 

The  guests  who  most  thoroughly  enjoyed  themselves 
were  undoubtedly  those  to  whom  the  social  ambitions 
of  Trentford  and  the  etiquette  of  the  housekeeper's  room 
were  matters  of  secondary  importance.  The  tenants  and 
the  outdoor  servants  of  Abbotsbury  came  to  the  ball  with 
the  firm  intention  of  spending  a  cheerful  evening,  and  they 
succeeded  in  doing  so. 

Mr.  Tomlinson,  the  dissenting  farmer,  to  be  sure,  had 
scruples  of  conscience  as  to  whether  the  act  of  dancing 
were  not  a  confession  to  concupiscence;  nevertheless,  his 
face  beamed  with  pride  and  pleasure  when,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  proceedings,  Lady  Redman  came  up  to 
him  and  said  that  she  hoped  he  would  dance  the  opening 
country  dance  with  her.  He  compromised  with  Satan  by 
making  no  attempt  at  steps,  for  which  his  partner  was 
grateful ;  but  the  compromise  necessitated  an  awkward 
run  with  his  hostess  ^down  the  middle  and  up  again* 
through  tlie  double  line  of  the  dancers,  on  the  execution 
and  effect  of  which  Hilda  had  afterwards  to  receive  the 
sarcastic  compliments  of  her  husband  and  the  party  stay- 
ing in  the  house. 


86  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  It  is  very  unfortunate/  said  Mr.  Russell  to  his  wife, 
as  they  watched  the  scene,  *  that  the  Tomlinsons  should 
be  placed  in  such  a  prominent  position.  It  is  hard  upon 
the  Church  people  to  see  dissenters  being  put  over  their 
heads.  I  wish  Redman  would  recognise  the  necessity  in 
these  days  of  supporting  the  claims  of  the  Established 
Church.' 

*  He  has  n't  taken  them  into  consideration  in  choosing 
his  wife,  so  I  don't  see  why  you  expect  him  to  do  so  in 
minor  details,'  replied  Mrs.  Russell  in  an  undertone. 

*  I  have  nothing  to  say  against  Lady  Redman,'  returned 
the  Rector.  *  I  must  confess  that  she  conducts  herself 
admirably.  It  is  a  very  strange  thing,  but  I  often  think 
that  she  shows  more  anxiety  to  promote  the  influence  of 
her  husband's  religion  in  the  parish  than  her  husband  him- 
self does.  What  do  you  think  of  all  these  Roman  Catho- 
lics, Mary,'  he  added,  ^  now  that  you  have  seen  more  of 
them?' 

*  I  think  them  charming,'  answered  Mary  Russell, '  espe- 
cially Lady  Merton.  I  like  Lady  Gwendolen,  too,  very 
much  ;  but  Lady  Merton  is  delightful  —  so  interesting  to 
talk  to,  and  such  a  grande  dame  ! ' 

The  Rector  laughed  pleasantly. 

*  Be  careful,  my  dear,'  he  said.  '  She  has  a  great  repu- 
tation for  making  converts  —  at  least,  so  Mr.  Shirley  tells 
me.' 

^  I  hope,  James,'  replied  Mrs.  Russell  with  dignity, '  that 
I  am  not  so  weak  in  my  religion  as  to  be  perverted  by  the 
first  Romanist  whom  I  happen  to  find  an  agreeable  person.' 

Her  husband  glanced  at  her  with  some  surprise. 

^  Of  course  not,'  he  said,  smiling.     ^  I  was  only  joking. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  87 

I  know  you  have  a  horror  of  them  all,  as  far  as  their 
doctrine  is  concerned  —  more  so,  indeed,  than  1  have  — 
eh,  Mary?' 

Mrs.  Russell  hesitated  a  little. 

*  One  understands  people's  ideas  better  when  one  has 
been  brought  into  contact  with  them,'  she  replied.  '  Cer- 
tainly they  believe  in  some  things  wliich  I  could  never 
accept  as  truth  — never,'  she  repeated  decidedly, '  but ' 

*  They  are  not  so  black  as  they  are  painted,'  interrupted 
the  Rector.  ^  That,'  he  continued,  *  I  have  always  held. 
Individual  Roman  Catholics,  however,  are  one  thing,  and 
Romanism  is  another.  It  is  the  system  which  is  anti- 
Scriptural  and  altogether  abominable.' 

Mary  Russell  did  not  reply,  and  at  that  moment  Lady 
Merton  approached  them. 

'  I  think  I  have  done  my  duty,'  she  said  to  Mrs.  Rus- 
sell, with  a' little  smile.  ^I  have  talked  about  the 
weather,  prize  stock,  and  babies,  and  I  have  danced  a 
quadrille  with  the  butler.  Shall  we  leave  this  perspir- 
ing humanity  for  a  little  while,  and  go  and  sit  down  in 
one  of  the  other  rooms?  There  is  always  a  moment  at 
these  entertainments  when  the  odour  of  hair-oil  becomes 
oppressive.' 

Mary  Russell  was  quite  ready  to  do  so,  and  the  two 
wandered  through  the  various  drawing-rooms  together, 
until  they  eventually  found  themselves  in  the  gallery, 
which,  save  for  two  or  three  couples  who  were  looking 
at  the  pictures  and  the  ornaments  which  it  contained, 
was  deserted. 

Lady  INIerton  sat  down  in  an  armchair  by  one  of  the 
fireplaces  at  the  further  end  of  the  room. 


88  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  These  functions  are  always  tiring/  she  said.  '  Every- 
one feels  they  must  talk,  and  no  one  quite  knows  what 
to  talk  about.' 

'  For  an  outsider  they  must  be  not  only  tiring  but  tire- 
some as  well/  replied  Mary  Russell.  'Of  course,  when 
one  knows  all  the  people's  home-life  and  interests  it 
makes  it  much  easier.' 

'Naturally/  said  Lady  Merton.  'At  Ware/  she  con- 
tinued, '  we  had  a  ball  of  this  kind  every  year ;  but  it 
was  not  given  upon  this  scale.  I  must  say  that  every- 
thing is  done  en  prince  at  Abbotsbury.  It  is  very  sat- 
isfactory to  see  how  popular  your  cousin  is  with  all  the 
people  here.* 

'  Oh  yes,  he  is  popular,  certainly,'  replied  Mrs.  Russell. 
*  You  know.  Lady  Merton,  a  Redman  would  have  to  be 
a  very  bad  specimen  of  his  race  not  to  be  popular  about 
here.  There  is  a  great  feeling  for  the  family  in  this  part 
of  the  county.  I  must  say,'  she  added,  '  Walter  deserves 
his  popularity.     He  is  a  most  kind  and  just  landlord/ 

'  How  nice ! '  said  Lady  Merton  absently ;  and  then 
she  gave  Mrs.  Russell  one  of  her  exploratory  glances. 
'And  Hilda?  I  hope  she  is  liked  also.  She  seems  to 
be  having  a  great  success  to-night.' 

'  I  am  sure  that  she  already  shares  Walter's  popularity,' 

answered  Mary  Russell.     '  But '  she  added,  and  then 

she  stopped  abruptly. 

'Ah!'  said  Lady  Merton.  'I  know  what  you  were 
going  to  say.  The  difference  of  religion  naturally  makes 
her  position  a  little  difficult.  These  divisions  are  so  sad, 
so  unnecessary.  If  people  would  only  read  their  Bibles 
and  believe,  everyone  would  be  united.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  89 

*  Their  Bibles  ? '  repeated  Mrs.  Russell. 

'  Certainly  —  their  Bibles,'  said  Lady  Merton.  There 
was  the  faintest  touch  of  asperity  in  her  voice,  for  Mary 
Russell's  question  had  in  it  an  accent  of  surprise  and  in- 
credulity. '  My  grand-daughter  tells  me,'  she  continued, 
'  that  you  are  interested  in  our  holy  religion,  Mrs.  Russell. 
I  am  sure  that,  in  the  present  unhappy  state  of  her  hus- 
band's mind  regarding  such  matters,  it  is  a  great  comfort 
to  Hilda  to  have  anybody  like  yourself  to  whom  she 
can  sometimes  talk  on  these  things,  even  though,  unfor- 
tunately, you  are  not  one  of  us.' 

'  I  am  interested  — yes.  But,  Lady  Merton,  Hilda  will 
have  told  you  that  I  am  a  strong  believer  in  my  own 
Church.' 

'  She  told  me  that  you  were  very  prejudiced,'  replied 
Lady  Merton;  ^but,  then,  prejudice  is  so  often  the  result 
of  ignorance.'  From  anybody  else's  lips  but  Lady  Merton's 
these  words  would  have  sounded  discourteous,  but  the 
gentle  and  deprecatory  tone  in  which  they  were  spoken 
made  it  impossible  for  Mary  Russell  to  feel  offended. 
'  You  must  remember,  my  dear  Mrs.  Russell,  that  I  was 
once  a  Protestant  myself,  so  I  know  better  than  most 
people  how  true  my  words  are,'  she  continued. 

Mary  Russell  was  silent.  Of  late  more  than  one  of  her 
pet  prejudices  had  turned  out  to  be  born  of  ignorance. 

'  I  am  glad,'  she  said,  after  a  pause,  during  which  Lady 
Merton  sat  and  watched  her  quietly,  '  that  Hilda  finds  it 
some  relief  to  talk  to  me.  I  am  often  sorry  for  her,  for  I 
can  understand  that  it  must  be  trying  to  her  to  feel  that 
she  and  her  husband  are  so  opposed  to  each  other  on 
spiritual  matters.' 


go  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  It  is  very  sad/  said  Lady  Merton,  sighing.  '  Poor  dear 
Hilda !  Her  letters  have  been  full  of  anxiety  concerning 
her  husband's  state  of  mind.  She  feels  it  acutely,  but  it 
is  very  difficult  for  us  to  help  her.  You  see,  any  attempt 
on  our  part  to  do  so  would  be  immediately  to  lay  ourselves 
and  her  open  to  the  suspicion  that  we  were  trying  to  con- 
vert him.' 

'  But  surely,'  said  Mrs.  Russell  wonderingly,  '  that 
Walter  should  join  your  Church  is  what  you  would  all 
wish?' 

Lady  Merton  laughed  —  a  soft,  musical  little  laugh. 

'  My  dear,'  she  replied,  '  when  you  know  us  Catholics 
better  you  will  realize  that  the  idea  that  we  are  always 
striving  after  conversions  is  another  of  your  prejudices. 
The  grace  to  find  the  truth  does  not  come  from  us  —  it 
comes  from  God.  Conversions  are  brought  about  not,  as 
our  enemies  would  have  it,  by  personal  influence,  but  by 
the  free  exercise  on  the  part  of  the  convert  of  his  or  her 
powers  of  reason,  directed,  as  I  have  just  said,  by  the 
grace  of  God.  All  that  we  who  possess  the  inestimable 
privilege  and  blessing  of  being  within  the  Churcli  can  do 
is  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  those  without  by  endeavour- 
ing to  dispel  their  ignorance  of  the  Church's  doctrines,  if 
they  require  such  assistance  of  us.  We  are  merely  instru- 
ments of  the  Divine  Will,  acting,  it  may  be  quite  uncon- 
sciously, to  further  the  Divine  ends.' 

^  I  did  not  know '  began  Mrs.  Russell. 

Her  companion  interrupted  her. 

'  No,'  she  said  gently ;  '  of  course  you  did  not  know. 
We  Catholics,  alas  !  are  well  accustomed  to  be  judged  by 
people  who  do  not  know,  as  our  Master  was.     But  do  not 


CASTING    OF    NETS  91 

let  us  drift  into  a  discussion  on  these  points,'  continued 
Lady  JNIerton.  ^  What  I  wanted  to  say  to  you  has  nothing 
to  do  with  this  subject,  except  very  indirectly.  I  think, 
Mrs.  llussell,  that  it  is  in  your  power  to  be  of  great  ser- 
vice both  to  your  cousin  and  to  liis  wife.' 

'1  am  afraid  that  I  do  not  see  how,'  replied  Mary 
Russell ;  '  for,  as  you  say,  I  am  not  one  of  you.' 

'  That  is  the  very  reason.' 

*  How  do  you  mean.  Lady  Merton  ? ' 

'Hilda  can  talk  to  you  freely  — all  the  more  freely, 
perhaps,  because  you  are  of  the  same  Church  to  which 
her  husband  nominally  belongs.  Nobody  could  suppose 
that  you,  the  wife  of  the  Rector  of  Abbotsbury,  were 
attempting  to  convert  Lord  Redman  to  Catholicism  if 
you  tried  to  make  him  understand  how  greatly  Hilda  is 
grieving  over  his  materialism,  and  at  the  thought  that 
he  is  surrounded  by  such  dangerous  friends  as  Mr. 
Shirley,  for  instance.' 

'But  Hilda  has  never  confided  her  anxieties  to  me,' 
objected  Mary  Russell.  '  I  feel  sure  that  she  is  supremely 
happy.  I  confess  I  have  sometimes  wondered  that  she 
does  not  seem  to  mind  the  fact  of  her  husband  being  of 
a  different  religion  from  her  own.' 

'Ah!'  rephed  Lady  Merton.  'If  it  were  really  a 
religion,  if  Walter  were  truly  a  member  of  your  Church, 
it  would  be  very  different.  Under  these  circumstances, 
Hilda,  as  a  Catholic,  might  regi'et  that  he  should  profess 
an  alien  creed,  but  she  w^ould  not  have  the  grief  of  feeling 
that  he  had  practically  no  belief  at  all.' 

'  But  are  you  sure  this  grieves  her  so  much  ? ' 

'Too  sure!     The   poor   child's   letters   to   her   mother 


92  CASTING    OF    NETS 

and  myself  contain  nothing  but  expressions  of  her  earnest 
longing  that  her  husband  may  be  brought  to  have  some 
religious  faith.  She  feels  very  bitterly  the  fact  of  being 
unable  to  discuss  such  things  with  him  without  exciting 
his  suspicions  that  she  is  aiming  at  converting  him  to 
her  Church.' 

^If  Hilda  had  ever  talked  to  me  about  Walter,  it 
would  be  very  much  easier  for  me  to  try  and  give  him 
a  hint  as  to  what  was  troubling  her,'  said  Mrs.  Russell. 

'She  naturally  might  not  like  to  mention  the  subject 
to  you/  replied  Lady  Merton.  'Of  course,  to  her  own 
family  she  feels  she  can  do  so,  and  that  we,  as  Catholics, 
would  be  able  to  sympathize  with  her  in  her  distress  of 
mind.' 

'  Tell  me  what  I  can  do,  dear  Lady  Merton,'  said  Mary 
Russell  warmly.  'I  am  afraid  that  neither  I  nor  my 
husband  have  any  influence  over  Walter.  We  are  very 
good  friends,  but  I  suppose  that  we  have  tacitly  agreed 
not  to  embark  in  religious  questions,  for  the  latter  are 
never  mentioned  between  us.' 

Lady  Merton  considered  for  a  few  moments  before 
replying. 

'Well,'  she  answered  at  length,  'I  think  you  have  it 
in  your  power  to  do  a  good  deal.  I  am  not  asking  you 
to  further  Lord  Redman's  conversion  to  Catholicism.  As 
I  have  already  said,  conversions  are  the  work  of  God, 
not  of  individuals.  Will  you  allow  an  old  woman  to  be 
very  frank  with  you,  Mrs.  Russell  ? ' 

'Please.' 

'Be  a  friend  to  Hilda.  One  woman  can  do  so  much 
for  another.     Try  to   impress  upon  her  that  it   is  her 


CASTING    OF    NETS  93 

duty  to  rouse  her  husband  from  tlic  lamentable  state  of 
iudifference  towards  all  faith  into  which  he  has  fallen. 
Even  though  she  may  never  have  spoken  to  you  about 
her  feelings,  she  will  listen  more  readily  to  you  than  she 
would  to  one  of  her  own  family.  You  would  supply,  so 
to  speak,  a  neutral  ground,  upon  which  she  and  Walter 
could  meet  —  a  channel  through  which  they  could  com- 
municate without  fear  of  being  misunderstood  by  one 
another.' 

*  But  Hilda  might  very  naturally  resent  any  such  inter- 
ference on  my  part.  As  I  say,  she  has  given  me  no 
encouragement  to  offer  her  my  advice  or  my  sympathy. 
She  might  ask  what  had  led  me  to  suppose  that  she  needed 
them,  and  I  could  hardly  tell  her  that  I  was  acting  upon 
your  suggestion.' 

'  Certainly  not ! '  replied  Lady  Merton  hastily.  '  You 
must  never  let  her  know  that  I  have  spoken  to  you  on 
the  subject.  Let  her  think  that  anything  you  say  to  her  is 
prompted  by  your  own  sympathy  with  her  in  a  very  trying 
position.  After  all,  you  told  me  just  now  that  you  often 
wondered  she  did  not  feel  her  husband's  spiritual  state 
more  keenly.  Why  should  you  not  let  her  see  that  her 
apparent  indifference  to  it  surprises  and  distresses  you.' 

^  Well,'  said  Mrs.  Russell,  '  I  will  try.  Heaven  knows, 
both  James  and  I  would  be  thankful  to  think  that  Walter 
had  some  belief,  which,  you  say,  is  Hilda's  one  anxiety. 
She  does  not  make  a  point  of  that  belief  being  in  all  re- 
spects the  same  as  her  own  ? ' 

'By  no  means,'  replied  Lady  Merton.  'If  you  can 
bring  them  both  to  feel  that,  even  though  the  forms  of 
their  faith  may  differ,  a  common   basis  of  belief  unites 


94  CASTING    OF    NETS 

them,  you  will  have  done  a  great  work.  Their  present 
state  of  existence  is  deplorable,  and  you  cannot  imagine 
how  deeply  poor  Hilda  feels  it ;  for,  from  what  you  tell 
me,  she  has  contrived  to  conceal  her  unhappiness  from 
you.  Think  over  it,  I  entreat  you,  my  dear  Mrs.  Russell, 
and  help  us  if  you  can ;  but,  above  all  things,  never  let 
either  Hilda  or  her  husband  know  that  you  are  acting  on 
any  suggestion  from  me.  I  am  sure  that  you  quite  under- 
stand how  fatal  it  would  be  to  our  hopes  should  they 
suspect  such  a  thing.' 

'  You  may  rely  upon  me  not  to  do  that,'  answered  Mary 
Russell.  ^  It  is  very  odd,'  she  continued,  '  but  do  you 
know,  I  always  had  quite  a  different  idea  of  you  Roman 
Catholics.  I  believed  that  you  ^^  compassed  heaven  and 
earth  to  make  one  proselyte  " ;  but,  since  I  have  talked  to 
Hilda  and  you  on  these  subjects,  I  begin  to  see  that  you 
look  at  the  spirit  of  belief,  not  merely  at  its  external 
forms.' 

Lady  Merton's  eyes  drooped. 

'  Yes,'  she  said,  '  you  are  right :  we  look  to  the  spirit. 
The  power  of  directing  that  spirit  into  its  true  home  is  in 
other  hands  than  ours.  Is  your  husband,  the  Rector,  also 
interested  in  these  things  ? '  she  added  suddenly. 

Mrs.  Russell  smiled. 

'  James  is  a  High  Churchman,'  she  replied  ;  *  but  noth- 
ing extreme,  and  he  is  devotedly  attached  to  his  Church.' 

'  Ah  !  very  anti-Catholic,  I  suppose  ? ' 

'  Anti-Roman,'  said  Mrs.  Russell. 

Lady  Merton  laughed. 

'  Ah  well,  my  dear/  she  said,  '  you  will  learn  to  appre- 
ciate us  better  some  day ;  at  least  I  don't  know  about 


CASTING    OF    NETS  95 

your  luisband,  but  I  am  sure  that  you  will  do  so.  You 
will  find  that  wc  arc  uot  such  very  silly  people  after  all. 
Shall  wc  go  back  to  the  ball-room  ?  I  suppose  you  ought 
to  return  to  your  duties,  and  I  shall  go  and  look  for  Hilda, 
to  wish  her  good-night.  It  is  time  for  old  women  like 
me  to  be  in  bed.' 

Dancing  was  going  on  with  renewed  vigour  when  Lady 
Merton  and  Mary  Russell  returned  to  the  Barons'  Hall. 
A  plentiful  supper  had  caused  the  last  remnants  of  shy- 
ness to  disappear  from  among  the  guests,  and  even  the 
frigid  exclusiveness  of  the  upper  servants  had  thawed 
under  the  influence  of  roast  beef  and  turkeys,  haunches 
of  venison  and  a  reckless  mixture  of  port,  sherry,  and  old 
ale.  Lord  Redman's  champagne  had  been  contemptu- 
ously declined  by  the  majority  of  his  tenants  as  'nowt 
but  gas,  which  blows  a  man  out  and  spoils  his  appetite.' 

Walter  himself,  after  dancing  with  the  wives  of  his 
principal  tenants  and  the  ladies  of  the  magnates  of  Trent- 
ford,  and  mingling  among  the  company  saying  a  cheery 
word  to  everyone,  had  retired  from  the  scene,  and  his 
example  had  been  followed  by  the  majority  of  those 
staying  in  the  house.  Lady  Redman,  however,  and  a 
few  of  the  younger  members  of  the  party  had  remained, 
and  Lady  Merton  and  Mrs.  Russell  found  her  dancing 
the  Highland  schottische  with  the  Trentford  doctor.  As 
they  made  their  way  towards  her,  many  flattering  and 
kindly  remarks  passed  upon  her  by  those  who  were 
watching  the  dancers  fell  upon  their  ears. 

'  If  all  Papists  be  like  my  lady  there,'  one  old  dame 
said  to  her  companion  as  Hilda  and  her  partner  passed 
them,  ^  they  can't  be  such  a  good-for-nothing  lot  after  all.' 


96  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'Eh,  deary  me,  Mrs.  Lyons,  but  isn't  it  downright 
awful  to  think  of  a  real  lady  like  she  a-worshipping  of 
graven  images,  for  all  the  world  like  them  heathens  in 
foreign  parts ! ' 

'They  do  say,'  replied  the  first  speaker  in  a  hoarse 
whisper,  'as  how  all  the  children,  if  so  be  as  there  is 
any,  must  be  reared  Papists,  same  as  their  mother.' 

'  Well,  well !     They  've  queer  ways,  has  the  quality.' 

Mrs.  Russell  laughed  witli  some  embarrassment.  She 
and  Lady  Merton  were  standing  behind  the  two  women, 
who  had  not  noticed  their  proximity. 

'  Yes  see,'  she  said,  '  Abbotsbury  has  its  own  way  of 
looking  at  things.' 

'  So  sad  ! '  murmured  Lady  Merton ;  '  and  to  think,' 
she  added,  'that  the  forefathers  of  these  people  were 
Catholics,  and  that  the  poor  things  should  be  so  ignorant 
of  the  Faith  of  which  they  have  been  robbed.' 

At  this  moment  Lady  Gwendolen  came  towards  them. 

'Why,  mamma,'  she  said  to  her  mother,  'I  thought 
you  had  gone  to  bed.' 

'  I  am  on  my  way  there,'  answered  Lady  Merton.  '  I 
am  just  going  to  say  good-night  to  Hilda,  and  then  I  will 
come.  You  are  not  going  to  stay  any  longer,  I  suppose, 
Gwen  ?  * 

'  Oh  no.     I  believe  they  will  keep  the  ball  up  till  five 

o'clock.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  accompanied  her  mother  upstairs,  and 
stayed  for  a  few  minutes  in  her  sitting-room. 

'  You  must  unfasten  my  gown  at  the  back,  Gwen/  said 
Lady  Merton.  'I  can't  get  at  it,  and  I  told  Spencer  I 
should  n't  want  her.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  97 

'  Where  have  you  been  for  the  Last  half-hour?  '  asked 
Lady  (hveiidulen,  struggling  with  a  knot. 

'  In  the  gallery,  talking  to  ^Irs.  Russell.  AVliat  du 
you  think  of  her  ? ' 

*  I  don't  know  that  I  have  thought  much  about  her. 
8hc  Bcems  a  nice  woman,  but  I  never  know  what  to  talk 
about  to  clergymen's  wives.  Hilda  likes  her  very  much, 
I  believe.' 

^Yes,  it  is  very  lucky  that  she  does.  Do  you  know, 
Gwen,'  added  Lady  Merton,  'I  think  that  she  is  very 
much  interested  in  the  Church.' 

*  Really?  '  said  Lady  Gwendolen  a  little  indifferently. 
She  had  suffered  in  her  time  from  her  mother's  converts. 

Lady  Merto;i  Jiad  a  way  of  handing  them  over  to  the 
Cawardens  after  conversion,  to  be  introduced  into  Catho- 
lic society. 

*  I  am  sure  of  it,'*  continued  Lady  jNIerton,  taking 
off  her  diamonds.  ^We  had  quite  a  long  conversation 
together.' 

"You  must  tell  Hilda,'  said  Lady  Gwendolen,  ^she 
will  be  able  to  help  her,  if  she  really  has  any  leanings 
towards  the  Church.' 

*  No,  Gwen  ;  Hilda  must  know  nothing  about  it.  Her 
doing  so  might  interfere  with  a  little  plan  of  mine/  replied 
Lady  Merton. 

*  But  surely  she  is  the  very  person  who  ought  to  be 
told.     She  could  do  so  much.* 

^  She  ought  to  have  plenty  to  do  in  trying  to  bring 
about  her  husband's  conversion,  without  undertaking 
anybody  else's,'  Lady  Merton  answered  decidedly.  '  I 
mean  Mrs.  Russell  to  be  of  use.     Reallv,  Hilda  is  too 

7 


98  CASTING    OF    NETS 

ridiculously  in  love.  Caunot  you  see,  Gwen,  that  she 
is  sacrificing  everything  to  the  desire  to  keep  up  a  kind 
of  perpetual  honeymoon?  I  am  glad  to  perceive  that 
our  remonstrances  have  had  the  effect  of  making  her 
uneasy,  but  the  thought  that  someone  outside  her  own 
family,  and  a  Protestant,  was  scandalized  at  her  quiet 
acceptance  of  her  husband's  agnosticism  would  make 
far  more  impression  upon  her  than  any  objections  of 
ours.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  looked  puzzled. 

'  I  don't  see  what  use  Mrs.  Russell  could  be,'  she  said. 

'  Perhaps  not,  but  I  do,'  replied  Lady  Merton  a  little 
irritably.  ^  I  have  much  more  experience  in  these  things 
than  you  have,  Gwen.  It  is  owing  to  me  that  your 
daughter  is  Lady  Redman.  If  I  had  not  taken  the 
matter  in  hand,  Redman  would  have  gone  off  in  a  huff, 
and  you  would  have  married  Hilda  to  one  of  your  tire- 
some young  men  with  good  names  and  second-rate  man- 
ners whom  I  always  meet  at  Cawarden.  I  dare  say  they 
would  have  said  the  rosary  together  before  they  went 
to  bed,  and  would  have  driven  in  the  wagonette  to  Mass 
on  Sundays,  but  nothing  more  would  have  come  of  it  in 
this  world.' 

'  In  this  world,  no.' 

*My  dear  Gwen,'  said  Lady  Merton,  'I  really  think 
that  you  are  a  little  short-sighted  in  the  way  you  regard 
things.  We  have  to  get  through  this  world  before  we 
can  get  into  the  next.  If  you  owe  it  to  me  that  Hilda 
is  tlie  wife  of  a  rich  peer  with  a  magnificent  property, 
instead  of  being  the  partner  in  the  joys  of  one  of  your 
Lancashire  squireens,  you  will  equally  owe  it  to  me  that 


CASTING    OF    NETS  99 

Iicr  husbiiiul  is  eventually  brouj^lit  intu  the  Church.  I 
ueed  hardly  remind  you  tliat  the  gain  to  our  cause  in 
England  will  be  rather  greater  in  this  case  than  it  would 
have  been  had  Hilda  married  one  of  your  Catholic  young 
men  and  sunk  into  respectable  insignificance.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  was  silenced,  as  indeed,  she  had  been 
all  her  life  when  her  mother  reasoned  with  her  on  questions 
of  expediency. 

'  But  you  have  not  told  me  what  Mrs.  Russell  is  to  do/ 
she  said  presently. 

*  iMrs.  Russell/  replied  Lady  Merton,  ^  can  be  utilized  in 
two  ways.  She  can  assist  us  in  wakening  Hilda  to  a 
sense  of  her  responsibilities  towards  her  husband's  soul 
and  of  her  duties  towards  the  Churcli ;  and  she  can  also, 
by  reason  of  her  position  here,  point  out  to  Walter  Red- 
man that  his  attitude  towards  religion  is  a  source  of  pain 
and  trouble  to  his  wife.' 

^  But  I  don't  believe  that  it  is,  mamma,'  exclaimed  Lady 
Gwendolen,  '  and  neither  do  you ! ' 

Lady  Merton  looked  compassionately  at  her  daughter. 
The  Duchess  of  Wearmouth  had  been  much  more  amen- 
able to  reason. 

^I  have  told  Mrs.  Russell  that  it  is,'  she  answered, 
'and  she  will  tell  her  cousin  so.' 

^  And  she  will  equally  tell  Hilda  what  she  has  learned 
from  you,'  said  Lady  Gwendolen. 

Lady  ]\Ierton  smiled  indulgently. 

*  Oh  no,  my  dear,'  she  replied,  '  she  will  not.  I  had 
foreseen  that  contingency.  Leave  the  management  of  this 
affair  to  me,  Gwen.  Hilda  must  be  made  to  understand 
that  the  time  for  dreaming  is  over,  and  that  the  moment 


loo  CASTING    OF    NETS 

for  action  has  arrived.  She  and  Walter  have  been  mar- 
ried five  months/  Lady  Merton  added  significantly.  *  We 
may  reasonably  suppose  that  in  a  few  more  there  will  be 
some  result  of  the  marriage.' 

^  No  doubt/  said  Lady  Gwendolen ;  *  but  what  has  that 
to  do  with  Walter's  attitude  to  religion  and  Hilda's  ap- 
parent carelessness  ? ' 

*  Evei-ything.  Do  you  recollect  Father  Galsworthy's 
reason  for  objecting  to  Walter's  indifference  to  the  condi- 
tions imposed  by  tlie  Church  ? ' 

'  Perfectly.' 

'  Father  Galsworthy  was  quite  right.  Supposing  Hilda 
has  a  son,  Walter  will  begin  to  feel  that  those  conditions 
are  more  important  than  he  imagined  when  he  so  readily 
agreed  to  them.  If  he  is  under  the  impression  that  Hilda 
is  indifferent  to  the  fact  of  his  not  being  a  Catholic,  the 
temptation  to  break  his  promises  with  regard  to  the  bring- 
ing up  of  the  son  who  is  to  succeed  him  will  be  very  strong. 
He  would  not  be  the  first  Protestant  who  has  made  a 
mixed  marriage,  and  broken  his  word  when  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  necessity  of  seeing  his  children  educated 
as  Catholics.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  looked  troubled. 

'  Ah ! '  she  replied ;  ^  I  begin  to  sec  what  you  mean. 
But  Mrs.  Russell  will  not  be  likely  to  use  her  influence  on 
the  side  of  our  religion.    Why  should  she  ? ' 

*  She  may  be  made  to  do  so  unconsciously,'  said  Lady 
Merton.  '  How  often  do  we  not  see  the  interests  of  the 
Church  furthered  by  those  who,  unknown  to  themselves, 
are  the  agents  of  God's  will?  In  Mrs.  RusselFs  case, 
however,  I  have  great  hopes  that  the  part  which  she  is 


CASTING    OF    ^[KtS:  loi 

called  upon  to  phiy  at  Abbotsbiiry  may  iiltiniatcly  lead  to 
her  own  conversion.  At  all  events,  my  dear  Owen,  leave 
tilings  to  me,  and  say  nothing  to  Ilihla  of  what  1  have  told 
you.  It  is  very  important  that  both  she  and  Walter  should 
be  able  to  regard  Mrs.  Russell  as  quite  independent  in  her 
views.  Mrs.  Russell  is  fond  of  Hilda,  and  of  course,  she 
is  Walter's  cousin.  She  may  prove  a  great  help  to  us, 
and  save  her  own  soul  into  the  bargain  by  being  so ;  for, 
after  all,  she  will  be  serving  the  Church.  She  is  a  person 
I  shall  not  lose  sight  of,'  concluded  Lady  Mertou,  as  she 
kissed  her  daughter  and  bade  her  good-night.  '  I  shall 
try  and  get  her  to  come  to  Ware  for  a  few  days.  A 
Catholic  atmosphere  has  a  marvellous  effect  upon  a  dissat- 
isfied soul.  All  the  same,  it  would  not  be  advisable  that 
she  should  be  converted  just  yet.'  And  she  picked  up  her 
diamonds,  which  she  had  laid  upon  the  table,  and  retired 
into  her  bedroom,  as  Lady  Gwendolen  left  her  and  went 
to  her  own  apartment. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EARLY  in  April  Lord  and  Lady  Redman  went  to 
London,  and  took  up  their  abode  at  the  family 
residence  in  St.  James's  Square.  Lady  Merton's  prog- 
nostications seemed  as  though  they  would  shortly  be 
fulfilled,  for  Hilda's  confinement  was  expected  to^take 
place  before  the  close  of  the  spring.  During  the  weeks 
which  had  elapsed  between  Christmas  and  Easter,  Hilda 
and  her  husband  had  remained  quietly  at  home.  The 
latter  found  plenty  of  occupation  in  the  affairs  of  the 
property,  and  in  hunting  with  the  Meynell  hounds,  in 
the  heart  of  whose  '  country '  Abbotsbury  was  situated. 
Occasionally  a  few  people  had  come  and  stayed  with 
them,  but  since  the  large  gathering  which  had  filled  the 
house  at  Christmas-time,  Hilda  had  seemed  to  be  disin- 
clined to  receive  many  guests.  Walter  Redman  noticed 
with  some  concern  that  the  preoccupied  and  worried  air 
which  he  had  first  observed  in  his  wife  after  the  arrival  of 
her  own  relatives  at  Abbotsbury  did  not  disappear  when 
they  had  departed,  as  he  had  hoped  would  be  the  case. 
Indeed,  as  the  days  went  by,  it  seemed  to  increase,  and 
her  spirits  were  no  longer  so  elastic  and  buoyant  as  they 
had  been  during  the  first  months  of  her  married  life. 

Under  any  other  circumstances  Walter  might  have  con- 
soled himself  Avith  the  reflection  that   the  state  of  his 


CASTING    OF    NETS  103 

wife's  health  wiuj  answeniblc  for  the  cluinge  which  he 
could  not  but  observe  in  her  temperament.  It  was  not 
that  she  was  less  affectionate  than  before ;  and  the  sweet- 
ness of  disposition  which  was  one  of  her  charms,  and 
whicli  attracted  even  those  who  were  brought  into  contact 
with  her  for  the  first  time,  never  deserted  her.  A  casual 
observer,  and  even,  perhaps,  an  intimate  acquaintance, 
would  not  have  noticed  the  change ;  but  Lord  Redman 
adored  his  wife,  and  the  eyes  of  love  are  not  to  be  de- 
ceived. iNIindful  of  Mr.  Shirley's  counsel,  and  faithful 
to  his  determination  to  test  its  efficacy,  Walter  forbore 
to  question  Hilda  as  to  what  might  be  troubling  her. 
He  affected  to  be  unaware  of  the  change  in  her,  though 
all  the  time  he  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  causes  which  were 
contributing  to  it,  and  his  feelings  towards  those  whom 
he  fully  believed  to  be  responsible  for  it  were  the  reverse 
of  charitable. 

He  was  glad  to  see  that  the  society  of  his  cousin  Mary 
Russell  was  evidently  a  pleasure  to  Hilda.  The  two  were 
a  great  deal  together,  and  Walter  reflected  that  it  was 
very  natural  that  they  should  be  so.  It  was  rather  dreary, 
he  thought,  for  his  wife  to  have  no  female  society  in  a  big 
house  like  Abbotsbury,  and  it  was  very  lucky  that  Mrs. 
Russell  should  be  close  by,  and  that  they  should  be  such 
good  friends. 

Walter  often  wished  that  Hilda  would  speak  to  him  of 
what  was  troubling  her,  but  this  she  never  did;  and 
tliough  it  would  have  been  a  relief  to  him  had  she  broken 
through  her  reserve,  he  honoured  her  the  more  for  not 
doing  so,  knowing  the  motive  which  prompted  her 
silence. 


I04  CASTING    OF    NETS 

It  had  not  escaped  Lord  Redman's  observation  that 
his  wife  went  much  more  often  to  the  monastery  church 
at  Abbotsbridge  than  she  had  formerly  done.  Hitherto 
Hilda  had  contented  herself  with  going  to  Mass  on  the 
prescribed  days,  and  occasionally  to  Vespers  and  Bene- 
diction on  Sunday  afternoons.  Now,  however,  her  hus- 
band frequently  heard  her  ordering  a  carriage  overnight 
to  take  her  to  Abbotsbridge  early  the  following  morning, 
and  she  would  return  as  he  was  finishing  his  breakfast, 
and  tell  him  she  had  been  to  church.  He  knew  that 
Lent  had  commenced,  and  concluded  that  this  fact  would 
account  for  her  increased  attendance  to  her  religious 
devotions,  but  it  seemed  to  him  that  her  preoccupation  of 
mind,  and  the  worried  expression  on  her  face,  were  more 
noticeable  on  these  days  than  they  were  at  other  times. 
As  the  weeks  went  by,  he  wondered  whether  these  early 
morning  excursions  to  Abbotsbridge  were  not  an  impru- 
dence on  her  part  in  her  then  condition,  but  he  did  not 
expostulate  with  her  on  the  subject. 

Easter  fell  early  that  year,  and  as  the  last  days  of  Lent 
approached  it  became  very  evident  to  Walter  that  his 
fears  lest  Hilda  should  over-fatigue  herself  were  far  from 
being  groundless.  She  looked  pale,  and  at  times  unwell, 
and  he  noticed,  moreover,  that  she  was  very  strict  in  her 
observance  of  eating  maigre  on  the  days  when  meat  was 
forbidden  by  the  Church,  and  thought  she  should  be 
dispensed  from  doing  so. 

Finally,  he  determined  to  confide  his  fears  to  Mary 
Russell,  and  to  ask  her  if  she  could  not  urge  Hilda  to  be 
more  careful  of  herself.  Any  remarks  on  the  subject,  he 
felt,  would   come  much  better  from  Mrs.  Russell  than 


CASTING    OF    NETS  105 

from  him,  and  Hilda  could  not  think  that  they  were 
made  with  any  view  of  interfering  with  that  full  liberty 
to  practise  her  religion  which  he  had  promised  she  should 
always  enjoy. 

Full  of  his  plan  of  taking  Mary  Russell  into  his  con- 
fidence, Walter  had  walked  across  to  the  Rectory  one 
morning  when  his  wife  had  gone  to  her  church,  and  had 
found  his  cousin  in  her  garden,  discussing  with  the 
gardener  as  to  the  grouping  of  the  colours  in  the  flower- 
beds for  the  coming  season. 

'  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  Hilda,  Mary,'  he  said,  as 
they  walked  up  and  down  the  terrace  together.  *I  do 
not  feel  quite  satisfied  about  her.' 

Mrs.  Russell  looked  at  him  curiously. 

'  In  what  way  ? '  she  asked. 

^  Well,  I  can  hardly  say,'  he  replied.  '  I  have  thought 
of  late  that  she  has  not  been  in  her  usual  good  spirits. 
No  doubt,'  lie  added  a  little  constrainedly,  ^  it  can  easily 
be  accounted  for,  and  that  is  my  reason  for  coming  to 
you  about  it.  I  suspect  that  it  is  more  a  matter  for  a 
woman's  interference  than  a  man's.' 

'  I  do  not  know,  Walter.  I  am  not  sure,'  began  his 
cousin  hesitatingly. 

'  I  thought,  perhaps,  that  you  could  say  a  word  to  her, 
and  beg  her  not  to  overtire  herself  by  going  so  perpetually 
to  her  church  as  she  has  been  doing  lately.  I  am  sure 
that  going  off"  to  Abbotsbridge  before  breakfast  cannot  be 
good  for  her  in  her  present  condition.  She  would  listen 
to  you  more  readily  than  to  me.' 

*I  do  not  see  why  she  should  do  so,'  replied  Mary 
Russell. 


io6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  Oh,  well,  it  is  a  little  «awkward  for  me  to  say  anything 
to  her/  said  Walter.  ^  You  see,  she  might  think  I  wished 
to  interfere  with  her  devotions.  Coming  from  you,  she 
could  not  feel  that.  Have  you  noticed  that  she  has  not 
been  looking  well  of  late  ? '  he  added. 

Mrs.  Russell  paused  for  a  moment  before  replying. 

^  Yes,'  she  said  at  length,  ^  I  have.  But,  Walter,  I 
don't  think  that  it  is  caused  by  any  bodily  ailment.' 

*  What  else  should  cause  it  ? ' 

'  I  am  afraid  that  she  is  troubled  in  her  mind.' 

'  My  dear  Mary !  what  can  she  have  to  trouble  her 
mind?' 

'You.' 

Lord  Redman  looked  at  her. 

'  Will  you  explain  ? '  he  said  briefly. 

'I  have  always  been  wanting  to  tell  you,'  answered 
Mrs.  Russell  quickly.  'I  wonder  you  have  not  guessed 
at  the  cause  of  it  before.  Hilda  is  fretting  about  you, 
Walter.  She  cannot  bear  the  thought  that  you  have  no 
religious  belief.  I  know  it  has  always  troubled  her 
greatly,  but  it  is  natural  that  just  now,  in  her  present 
state,  the  thought  should  distress  her  more  than  ever.' 

*  Has  she  told  you  so  ? ' 

Mrs.  Russell  turned  aside  and  arranged  a  straggling 
bunch  of  japonica,  the  red  blossoms  of  which  were  just 
coming  into  bloom. 

'  Yes,'  she  replied. 

Walter  Redman  was  silent. 

'  It  is  very  natural,'  repeated  his  cousin.  *  You  should 
put  yourself  in  her  place,  Walter.  Remember  all  that 
religious  faith  means  to  her.     We  may  think  that  Roman 


CASTING    OF    NETS  107 

Catholics  are  in  error,  but  we  cannot  deny  that  their  faith 
is  a  very  real  thing  to  them.' 

'No  one  interferes  with  her  faith.' 

Mary  Russell  made  a  little  movement  of  impatience. 

*  That  is  a  regular  man's  remark/  she  said.  ^  We 
women  do  not  look  upon  our  religion  only  as  a  matter  of 
personal  advantage  to  ourselves ;  we  want  those  who  are 
near  and  dear  to  us  to  benefit  by  it  also.  It  is  this  which 
is  distressing  your  wife.  She  is  full  of  fear  for  the 
future.' 

'Let  us  put  it  plainly/  vsaid  Walter.  'She  believes 
that  she  w411  go  to  heaven,  and  that  I  shall  go  to  hell.' 

Mrs.  Russell  looked  shocked. 

'  It  is  too  serious  a  subject  for  flippancy/  she  said  stiffly. 

^  I  do  not  intend  any  flippancy ;  it  is  a  plain  statement 
of  facts.' 

'Well/  replied  Mrs.  Russell,  'I  suppose  that  it  is; 
but,  being  so,  can  you  wonder  if  she  is  unhappy  ?  It  is 
not  so  much  the  thought  of  your  being  of  another  faith 
which  grieves  her,  as  that  you  have  no  belief  in  the  form 
of  religion  which  you  nominally  profess.  Hilda  does 
not  want  to  convert  you  to  Catholicism,  but  she  does 
want  to  feel  that  you  and  she  have  a  common  faith  in 
Christianity.' 

Lord  Redman  looked  at  his  cousin  somewhat  search- 

ingly. 

'  Has  she  said  as  much  to  you  ? '  he  asked. 

'No,  she  has  never  said  so  in  words,  but  I  am  quite 
sure  it  is  the  case.  Of  course,  I  do  not  pretend  to  be- 
lieve that  she  could  ever  be  thoroughly  happy  so  long 
as  you  were  outside  that  which  she  naturally  believes  to 


io8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

be  the  only  true  Church.  I  understand  that,  when  you 
married,  you  pledged  yourselves  to  respect  your  mutual 
religions.' 

'  That  is  true.' 

*  But  you  have  no  religion,  Walter  ;  and,  therefore, 
Hilda  is  left  with  nothing  to  respect  so  far  as  that  pledge 
is  concerned,  and  everything  to  fear  for  you.  The  cer- 
tainty of  this  has  gradually  been  growing  in  her  mind, 
and  now  it  is  beginning  to  tell  upon  her  spirits,  and  per- 
haps upon  her  health.' 

'  But  what  would  you  have  me  do  ?  I  do  not  suppose 
that  you,  of  all  people,  would  suggest  that  I  should  turn 
Catholic  in  order  to  allay  fears  which  I  regard  as  result- 
ing from  a  deplorable  misconception  of  the  nature  of  the 
Almighty ! ' 

Mary  Russell  shook  her  head. 

*  No,'  she  replied,  '  not  unless  you  were  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  Roman  Catholicism.  If  you  were  so,  I 
should  say  that  it  would  be  the  best  thing  you  could  do. 
You  must  recollect  that  you  practically  severed  your  con- 
nection with  the  Church  of  your  forefathers  when  you 
married.  Your  descendants  must  be  Roman  Catholics, 
so  it  would  only  be  anticipating  matters,  so  far  as  Ab- 
botsbury  is  concerned,  if  you  were  one  yourself.' 

Walter  Redman  looked  at  her  with  surprise.  Before 
his  marriage  he  had  often  heard  his  cousin  speak  of  con- 
verts to  Rome  in  the  terms  of  the  strongest  disapproval, 
not  to  say  contempt.  The  thought  of  how  the  news  of 
his  engagement  to  a  Catholic  would  be  received  at  the 
Rectory  had  troubled  him  not  a  little  at  the  time,  for  he 
had  been  afraid  lest  the  prejudices  of  Mrs.  Russell  might 


CASTING    OF    NETS  109 

have  their  cfTect  upon  the  people  of  the  place,  to  his 
wife's  disadvantage.  He  could  only  conclude  that  her 
friendship  with  Hilda  had  caused  her  to  take  a  more 
liberal-minded  view  of  Roman  Catholicism  generally,  but 
he  had  certainly  not  expected  to  hear  her  discussing  the 
possibility  of  his  embracing  it  with  so  much  equanimity. 

'  Why,  Mary,'  he  could  not  help  saying  to  her,  ^  you 
surely  have  modified  your  opinions  of  late  ? ' 

'  I  am  sorry  for  Hilda,'  Mrs.  Russell  replied,  ignoring 
the  question.  ^I  do  not  think  you  realize  how  great  a 
trial  it  must  be  to  her  to  see  you  in  what  her  conscience 
tells  her  is  a  very  deplorable  state,  and  what  her  Church 
teaches  her  is  a  very  perilous  one.  She  is  not  a  person 
who  is  indifferent  to  such  things,  and  I  know  that  she 
thinks  deeply  on  these  matters.  It  must  be  inexpressibly 
painful  to  her  to  have  to  keep  silence  about  them  in  order 
not  to  appear  faithless  to  a  promise  made  to  you  before 
marriage.' 

They  walked  on  for  a  few  minutes  without  speaking. 
Walter  could  not  help  being  struck  by  the  similarity 
between  Mary  Russell's  words  and  those  which  Mr. 
Shirley  had  spoken.  He  did  not  feel  the  slightest  doubt 
that  his  wife  had  confided  her  troubles  to  Mrs.  Russell, 
and  that  the  latter's  remarks  were  the  direct  result  of  this 
confidence. 

'The  promise  was  a  mutual  one,  made  with  the  object 
of  preventing  any  of  those  disagreeables  which  religious 
opinions  are  so  apt  to  produce  in  life,'  Ijord  Redman  said, 
a  little  satirically.  '  The  arrangement  seemed  to  answer 
very  well  during  the  first  months  of  our  marriage,'  he 
added,   '  and    I    cannot  understand   why   Hilda  should 


no  CASTING    OF    NETS 

suddenly  have  become  so  sensitive  on  the  subject,  unless, 
of  course,  some  external  influences  are  at  work  upon  her. 
I  have,  unfortunately,  strong  reason  to  believe  that  this  is 
the  case,  and  that  if,  as  you  say,  Hilda  is  worrying  herself, 
the  fact  is  chiefly  owing  to  interference  on  the  part  of  some 
of  her  family.' 

Mrs.  Russell  shook  her  head  decidedly. 

*  No,  Walter,'  she  replied.  *  I  am  convinced  that  you 
are  wrong  there.  I  feel  sure  that  it  is  no  external  influ- 
ence which  is  at  work  upon  your  wife,  but  something  far 
more  powerful  —  namely,  the  internal  promptings  of  her 
conscience,  supported  by  the  traditional  teaching  of  her 
Church.' 

Here  Mary  Russell  spoke  what  she  genuinely  believed 
to  be  the  truth. 

'  I  must  say,'  she  continued,  ^  I  think  Hilda  is  wonder- 
fully broad-minded,  considering  the  school  in  which  she 
has  been  brought  up.  You  jump  to  the  conclusion  that 
nothing  short  of  your  embracing  her  faith  would  satisfy 
her.  I  believe,  as  I  have  said  before,  that  she  would  be 
content  with  the  knowledge  that  you  accepted  the  religion 
of  your  predecessors.' 

*  It  is  all  the  more  fortunate  for  her  that  I  do  not  do  so.' 
'  I  do  not  see  why. 

*  For  a  very  simple  reason.  If  I  were  a  man  with 
decided  opinions  on  those  subjects,  do  you  suppose  that 
it  would  be  a  pleasant  thing  to  see  myself  forced  to  give 
way  to  the  arrogant  claims  of  my  wife's  Church,  and  to 
allow  my  children  to  be  brought  up  in  another  creed  to 
my  own?  You  know  very  well,  Mary,  what  the  tradi- 
tions of  our  family  are.      You  have   only  got  to   look 


CASTING    OF    NETS  iii 

round  tlic  walls  of  the  church  yonder  to  be  reminded  of 
them.' 

*  Yes/  replied  Mrs.  Russell,  ^  but  remember  that  the 
traditions  you  allude  to  are  comparatively  modern  ones 
in  the  family  history.  What  would  Sir  Walter  have 
thought  of  them,  and  of  your  ideas?' 

'I  could  argue  that  point  with  you  also,'  said  Lord 
Redman,  smiling.  *  Even  in  pre-Reformation  days  the 
Redmnns  were  always  loyal  Englishmen  first  and  Catho- 
lics afterwards,  and  they  were  among  the  earliest  to  reject 
the  claims  of  Rome.  It  seems,'  he  added,  a  little  bitterly, 
'  that  it  has  been  reserved  for  their  latest  representative 
to  submit  to  the  latter.' 

jVIary  Russell  glanced  at  him  inquiringly.  It  was  the 
first  remark  which  she  had  ever  heard  him  make  which 
could  have  led  her  to  suppose  that  he  had  any  feeling  for 
the  religious  traditions  of  his  house  in  the  past. 

'  However,'  he  continued,  '  I  did  not  come  here  to  talk 
about  myself  and  my  ideas,  but  about  Hilda.  Do  you  not 
think  you  could  try  and  persuade  her  not  to  trouble  her- 
self uimecessarily  about  all  these  things  ?  I  am  sure  that 
it  is  very  bad  for  her  just  now  to  do  so.* 

'  She  does  not  regard  it  as  unnecessary,  you  see,'  said 
Mrs.  Russell. 

'  W^ell,'  exclaimed  Walter,  in  a  tone  of  mingled  amuse- 
ment and  impatience,  '  I  '11  be  hanged  if  I  can  make  you 
religious  people  out !  You  set  up  a  deity,  and  no  sooner 
have  you  done  so  than  you  treat  him  as  though  he  were 
an  absolute  fool,  and  incapable  of  managing  his  own  affairs. 
At  any  rate,  Mary,'  he  added, '  you  might  advise  her,  as  you 
say  she  talks  to  you,  to  leave  things  in  the  hands  of  Pro\'i- 


112  CASTING    OF    NETS 

dence,  at  all  events  for  the  present.  I  notice  that  people 
generally  take  that  course  when  they  don't  choose  to  be 
troubled.  And  if  you  could  give  her  a  hint  not  to  let  Lady 
Merton  and  the  priests  worry  her,  it  would  be  a  good 
thing.  You  could  point  out  to  her  that  she  was  much 
happier  before  she  began  to  allow  all  these  ideas  to  disturb 
Iier ;  and  for  that  matter,  you  might  tell  her  that  I  was 
much  happier  also.  Perhaps,  if  she  thought  that,  she 
miijht  not  trouble  herself  so  much  about  me.' 

'  Well,  Walter,  I  will  see  what  I  can  do,'  replied  Mrs. 
Russell ;  'but  remember  I  think  that  it  is  perfectly  natural 
that  Hilda  should  distress  herself.  The  remedy  lies  in 
your  own  hands.  She  may  very  reasonably  consider  that 
if  you  really  cared  for  her  you  would  make  some  effort  to 
overcome  your  scepticism  when  you  know  that  it  is  this, 
and  this  alone,  which  is  troubling  her.' 

*  Do  you  think  she  could  really  suppose  such  a  thing  ?  ' 
asked  Walter. 

The  idea  had  not  struck  him  before,  and  it  seemed  to 
add  a  fresh  complication  to  his  position. 

^She  might  very  easily  do  so — in  fact,  I  have  little 
doubt  that  this  thought  is  adding  to  her  trouble.  After 
all,  it  must  be  mortifying  to  her  to  feel  that  you  are  sur- 
rounded by  agnostics,  such  as  Mr.  Shirley,  for  instance, 
whose  views  you  are  always  ready  to  accept,  and  to  whom 
you  can  talk  freely  on  all  these  questions,  whereas  to  her 
your  lips  are  sealed.  You  give  her  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  you  are  otherwise  than  indifferent  to  her  peace  of 
mind.  You  see,  I  speak  plainly,'  added  Mrs.  Russell,  ^as 
you  have  asked  me  for  my  opinion.' 

'Yes,'  said  Walter  thoughtfully,  'you  certainly  do,  and 


CASTING    OF    NETS  113 

I  might  believe  that  you  were  right  if  it  were  not  for  ono 
point  upon  whieh  1  am  not  quite  clear.' 

*  And  that  is  ? ' 

*  As  to  how  nuich  of  Hilda's  distress  of  mind  is  sponta- 
neous and  how  nuieh  is  the  result  of  suggestion.  You 
know  as  well  as  I  do,  Mary,  how  many  subtile  influences 
can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  a  Catholic  who  is  devoted  to 
his  or  her  religion,  and  your  sex  is  generally  supposed  to 
be  the  more  open  to  such  influences  of  the  two.' 

'  We  are  always  told  so,  but  those  things  are  often  very 
much  exaggerated.  Unscrupulous  people  in  any  creed 
can  abuse  the  religious  devotion  of  others.  In  this  case, 
however,  I  cannot  see  any  grounds  for  such  a  suspicion.* 

'  Perhaps  not,'  said  Walter,  ^  but  it  is  a  curious  coinci- 
dence that  Hilda's  frequent  visits  to  Abbotsbridge  seem 
to  have  the  effect,  not  of  tranquillizing  her  mind,  but 
apparently  of  still  further  disturbing  it.  I  have  noticed 
that  she  is  invariably  in  lower  spirits  and  looks  more 
worried  after  them,  and  I  often  wonder  what  is  said  to 
her  there.  I  never  ask  her  any  questions,  but  I  conclude 
that  she  has  some  special  spiritual  adviser  among  the 
monks.' 

*Yes,'  replied  Mary  Russell,  'she  has.  She  told  me 
that  one  of  the  Fathers  at  Abbotsbridge  had  been  par- 
ticularly recommended  to  her  by  an  Oratorian  priest  in 
London  who  is  very  intimate  with  her  family.' 

'  Ah  !  Father  Galsworthy  probably.' 

^  I  think  that  was  the  name  she  said.  Of  course  it  is 
quite  natural  that  she  should  have  a  confessor  here,  and 
doubtless  she  consults  him  upon  her  difficulties.' 

'  Of  course  ! ' 

8 


114  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Lord  Redman  did  not  add  any  more,  but  the  tone  of 
his  voice  expressed  his  thoughts  eloquently  enough. 

Turning  at  the  end  of  the  terrace,  they  saw  the  Rector 
approaching  them  from  the  house.  He  had  seen  them 
from  his  study  windows,  and  wondered  what  Lord  Red- 
man had  come  to  talk  about.  As  they  were  evidently 
in  earnest  conversation,  he  had  refrained  from  joining 
them  sooner. 

'  Well,  Mary,'  said  V/alter,  as  he  drew  near,  *  I  hope 
you  will  do  your  best  to  prevent  Hilda  from  dwelling 
too  much  upon  her  thoughts,  whether  they  are  her  own 
or  other  people's.  It  is  evident  that  they  are  doing  her 
no  good,  and  if  things  are  as  I  cannot  help  suspecting, 
it  will  surely  not  be  an  objectionable  task  to  you  to  try 
and  counteract  influences  which  could  only  succeed  in 
making  us  both  unhappy.  Your  Protestant  principles 
ought  to  support  you  in  so  good  a  work,'  he  added, 
smiling. 

^  I  should  not  like  to  say  anything  which  might  appear 
as  though  I  were  seeking  to  destroy  Hilda's  faith  in  her 
Church,'  said  ISIrs.  Russell.    . 

*  Neither  should  I  wish  you  to  do  so.  All  that  I  would 
ask  of  you  is  to  help  her  to  protect  herself  against  those 
who  may  be  seeking  to  abuse  her  faith  and  employ  it  as 
a  means  to  securing  their  own  ends.  Ah  !  Russell,  good- 
morning.  Mary  and  I  have  been  having  a  little  talk 
about  my  wife's  health.  We  are  off*  to  London,  you 
know,  very  soon.  Great  nonsense,  I  call  it,  leaving  the 
country  just  as  spring  has  come;  but  we  are  slaves  to 

fashion ' 

^  And  to  doctors,'  said  the  Rector,  with  a  smile. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  115 

^  Oh  yes,  of  course !  I  forgot.  Doctors,  certainly  ; 
though  I  've  no  doubt  that  Turnbull  of  Treutford  would 
do  just  as  well  as  Siddoiis  of  Belgravia,  and  charge  a 
good  deal  less  for  doing  it.' 

After  talking  a  little  while  with  the  Kussells,  Walter 
had  gone  back  to  the  Hall.     As  he  passed  through  the 
churchyard  something   prompted  him   to   look   into   the 
old  building   itself.      He  opened  the  heavy  oaken  door 
gently  and  entered.     The  church  was  empty,  and  he  went 
through  the  nave  and  down  the  steps  into  the  chancel. 
Here   he   paused  and  looked  around   him.     The  March 
sunlight  was   streaming   through  the  windows,  some  of 
which  were   open,   and   the  voices  of  the   spring  —  the 
liquid  notes  of  blackbirds  and  thrushes,  the  bleating  of 
the  young  lambs  in  the  meadows,  the  cawing  of  the  nest- 
ing rooks  —  floated  in  with  it,  the  eternal  song  of  Life, 
unhushed  by  the  presence  of  the  dead.     Walter  Redman 
leaned  against  the  carved  oaken  pillars  of  the  chancel 
stalls  in  which  so  many  generations  had  worshipped  and 
prayed.     His  glance  rested  on  one  after  another  of  the 
monuments  of  his  race,  from  that  of  Sir  Walter  de  Red- 
man, staring  up  at  his  armour  on  the  wall  above  him  as 
though  wondering,  as   some   irreverent   descendant   had 
said,  how  he  should  ever  get  into  it  again,  to  that  of  his 
own  father,  which  he  himself  had  erected  a  few  years 
previously.     He  had  been  familiar  with  the  scene  all  his 
life,  but  none  the  less  he  was  conscious  of  a  little  thrill 
of  pride  as  he  looked  upon  it  —  of  pride  and  of  some  sad- 
ness.    There  were  not  many  such  resting-places  of  a  race 
which  could  point  to  an  unbroken  descent  and  o^vner- 
ship  of  the  soil  on  which  it  lived  of  well-nigh  a  thousand 


ii6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

years.  The  words  which  his  cousin  Mary  Russell  had 
spoken  to  him  that  morning  returned  to  his  mind.  *  You 
practically  severed  your  connection  with  the  Church  of 
your  forefathers  when  you  married/  she  had  told  him. 
It  was  true.  He  had  also  severed  the  unborn  who,  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  nature  would  come  after  him,  from 
all  spiritual  connection  with  those  others  who  were  lying 
around  him  and  beneath  his  feet. 

Walter  Redman  was  too  well  versed  in  history  and  in 
the  records  of  his  own  family  for  the  thought  that  his 
heirs  would  revert  to  the  primitive  faith  of  their  ancestors 
to  afford  him  much  satisfaction.  The  fact  remained  that, 
however  faithful  the  earlier  members  of  the  race  might 
have  been  to  their  medieval  beliefs,  their  immediate 
descendants  had  flung  these  aside  so  soon  as  education 
and  enlightenment  had  enabled  them  to  understand  their 
true  value,  scope,  and  origin,  in  the  same  way  that  the 
nation  at  large  had  done.  And  now  he  had  severed  the 
connection  of  those  who  would  succeed  to  them  and  to 
him  with  that  national  faith,  the  inheritance  of  a  purer 
age,  with  which  were  bound  up  some  of  the  best  tradi- 
tions of  their  common  house. 

'By  what  right?' 

Walter  Redman  started  and  half  turned  round.  It 
seemed  to  him  as  though  the  words  were  spoken  aloud 
by  some  person  standing  at  his  side. 

Then  he  remembered  that  he  was  alone,  and  knew 
that  they  were  his  own  thoughts. 

'  By  what  right  ? '  he  repeated  to  himself,  and  had  to 
reply  that  it  was  by  right  of  his  own  indifference  —  his 
inability  to  believe. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  117 

In  the  silence  of  the  church,  with  only  liiniself  and 
the  dead  to  hear  it,  the  answer  did  not  sound  satisfactory. 
It  was  strange,  he  thought,  that  it  should  not.  He  had 
analyzed  that  same  indillcrence  and  inability  to  believe 
so  deeply  and  so  often,  even  there  in  that  very  place, 
while  the  offices  of  the  Church  were  being  celebrated 
around  him,  and  the  result  of  the  analysis  had  never 
struck  him  as  unsatisfactory  until  that  moment. 

Turning  away  almost  impatiently,  Walter  retraced  his 
steps  to  the  west  door  of  the  church,  and,  opening  it, 
found  himself  confronted  by  his  wife,  who  was  apparently 
about  to  enter  it. 

Hilda  started  when  she  saw  him,  and  looked  surprised. 

'Whv,  Walter,'  she  said,   'I   had   no  idea   you  were 

here.' 

'I  have  been  at  the  Rectory,'  he  replied,  'and  just 
looked  into  the  church  on  my  way  home.  Do  you  want 
to  go  in  ? '  he  added.     '  I  will  come  back  with  you  if  you 

do.' 

'Oh  no,'  said  Hilda  a  little  hurriedly.  'I  thought  I 
would  go  in  for  a  minute  or  two ;  but  it  does  n't  matter. 
Let  us  go  into  the  gardens  instead;  it  is  such  a  lovely 
spring  morning.' 

'  You  have  been  to  Abbotsbridge  ? ' 

'  Yes  ;  I  have  just  got  back.' 

Walter  looked  at  her. 

*  Don't  you  think  you  are  doing  a  little  too  much?' 
he  said. 

*  I  ?     Oh,  no  !     Why  should  you  think  that  ?  ' 

'  For  no  particular  reason,'  answered  Walter  lightly  ; 
'  only  I  have  thought  you  sometimes  looked  tired  of  late, 


ii8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

and  that  is  not  very  wise  of  you/  he  added,  with  a 
smile. 

Hilda  was  silent.  She  was,  indeed,  feeling  very  tired, 
and  she  had  walked  through  the  gardens  to  the  church, 
meaning  to  sit  down  in  the  latter  in  order  to  rest  and 
think  for  a  little  while.  She  knew  that  she  should,  in 
all  probability,  find  the  building  empty  at  that  hour, 
and  that  nobody  would  be  likely  to  disturb  her,  unless 
it  were  Mary  Russell,  who  might  come  with  fresh  flowers 
for  the  altar.  She  had  been  considerably  astonished  at 
meeting  her  husband  coming  out  of  the  church,  and  could 
not  help  wondering  what  had  taken  him  there. 

That  morning  she  had  had  a  long  conversation  with 
the  Dominican  Father  to  whom  Father  Galsworthy  had 
advised  her  to  go  for  spiritual  counsel  while  she  was  at 
Abbotsbridge.  As  had  been  the  case  after  all  the  inter- 
views which  she  had  recently  had  with  him,  she  had 
returned  from  it  more  troubled  and  perplexed  in  her  mind 
than  ever.  It  was  in  vain  that  she  tried  to  explain  to 
the  Dominican  her  perplexity.  He  either  could  not,  or 
would  not,  understand  it  in  the  sense  in  which  she 
attempted  to  present  it  to  him.  Father  Vincent  insisted 
upon  looking  at  her  case  from  a  point  of  view  which, 
though  a  logical  one,  Hilda  felt  in  her  heart  not  to  be  a 
true  one,  or  only  to  be  so  in  part.  Carnal  affection,  he 
never  ceased  to  assure  his  penitent,  was  at  the  bottom  of 
her  doubts  and  difficulties,  and  she  was  allowing  her 
material  love  for  her  husband  to  cast  out  and  destroy  that 
spiritual  love  which  alone  could  bring  happiness  and  peace 
of  mind  to  both  of  them  in  the  future.  The  troubled 
state  in  which  she  found  herself  was,  he  impressed  upon 


CASTING    OF    NETS  119 

her,  the  Divine  voice  of  conscience  calling  to  her  and 
urging  her  to  do  lier  duty  towards  God  and  His  Church 
by  putting  aside  all  considerations  of  worldly  love  —  by 
thinking,  as  he  had  implied  to  her  with  some  frankness, 
more  of  her  husband's  soul  and  less  of  his  body. 

It  was  in  vain  that  Ilikla  pleaded  her  scruples  at 
breaking  the  promise  which  she  had  made  never  to 
interfere  with  her  husband's  religious  views,  and  that 
she  dreaded  to  disturb  his  evident  happiness.  Father 
Vincent  had  refused  to  listen  for  a  moment  to  such 
objections.  They  were  mere  excuses,  he  told  her  — 
plausible  inventions  of  Satan  to  obscure  her  vision  and 
cause  her  to  stray  from  that  path  of  duty  and  sacrifice 
of  all  selfish  motives  which  her  conscience  was  so  clearly 
telling  her  to  follow.  The  point  of  honour  which  she 
advanced  —  the  maintenance  on  her  part  of  a  compact  to 
which  her  husband  had  shown  himself  punctually  obser- 
vant —  was  swept  scornfully  aside  by  her  confessor. 

The  Church,  he  declared  to  her,  recognised  no  promise 
as  binding  the  maintenance  of  which  was  detrimental  to 
a  human  soul.  The  true  dishonour  would  be  for  a 
Catholic  to  keep  such  a  promise  had  it  been  exacted. 
The  responsibility  for  breaking  it  would  rest,  not  with 
her,  but  with  those  who  had  caused  her  to  give  a  pledge 
which  was  in  itself  a  sin. 

Hilda's  condition  of  health  had  certainly  contributed 
towards  those  mental  anxieties  which  had  been  increased 
rather  than  diminished  by  her  attempts  to  seek  spiritual 
advice  and  consolation  from  Father  Vincent.  Her  ap- 
proaching confinement,  moreover,  had  afforded  the  latter 
occasion  to  remind  her  that  she  was  about  to  pass  through 


I20  CASTING    OF    NETS 

a  period  of  pain  and  danger.  He  besought  her  to  make 
peace  with  her  conscience  before  that  time  should  arrive. 
He  pointed  out  how  terrible  a  thing  it  would  be  should 
she  have  to  reproach  herself  with  having  allowed  her 
husband's  soul  to  perish  for  the  want  of  any  attempt  on 
her  part  to  save  it;  how  bitter  would  be  the  discovery 
that  her  vaunted  affection  for  him  had  been  no  true  love, 
but  only  an  earthly  passion. 

AVeary  in  body,  distressed  and  harassed  in  mind,  Hilda's 
soul  had  sometimes  risen  up  in  revolt  against  what  her 
heart  told  her  was  both  unjust  and  tyrannical.  Then 
would  follow  hours  of  reaction,  in  which  she  would 
upbraid  herself  for  her  distrust,  her  lack  of  humility  and 
discipline,  and  strive  to  convict  herself  of  that  purely 
material  passion  to  which  Father  Vincent  had  more 
than  hinted  that  she  was  a  prey. 

But  it  was  not  true.  Something  deep  down  in  her 
heart,  and  far  removed  from  the  disturbing  elements 
which  ruffled  the  surface  of  life,  assured  her  of  this.  She 
could  not  lay  her  finger  upon  the  falseness  and  insincerity 
of  the  reasoning  which  was  brought  to  bear  upon  her,  but 
it  was  in  vain  that  she  tried  to  combat  the  intuition  that 
both  the  one  and  the  other  lay  concealed  in  the  counsel 
which  was  given  to  her  at  Abbotsbridge. 

That  morning  Hilda  had  found  Father  Vincent  more 
uncompromising  than  ever,  and,  if  possible,  less  sym- 
pathetic. The  Dominican  had  relied  a  little  too  much 
upon  the  fact  that  he  was  dealing  with  a  woman  who 
had  been  bred  and  born  a  Catholic,  and  had  therefore 
ventured  to  bring  more  pressure  to  bear  upon  his  visitor 
than  was  quite  advisable.     He  had  miscalculated  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  121 

strength  of  Lady  Rcdinan'H  affection  for  her  husband, 
and  miscalculated  also  the  limits  of  her  submissiveness 
to  spiritual  authority.  Much  to  Father  Vincent's  as- 
tonishment, Hilda  had  given  him  to  understand  that  she 
was  by  no  means  disposed  to  follow  his  directions  and 
advice.  The  moment  had  been  a  trying  one  to  the 
Dominican,  and  in  attempting  to  redeem  one  psychological 
blunder  he  had  fallen  into  another,  and  had  drawn  so 
vivid  a  picture  of  the  evil  which  Lady  Redman  was  bring- 
ing upon  herself  and  her  husband  by  her  contumacy  as 
to  arouse  both  the  suspicions  and  the  temper  of  his 
penitent. 

The  result  of  that  morning's  interview  had  been  that 
Hilda  had  gently  but  firmly  told  Father  Vincent  that 
she  should  soon  be  in  Loudon,  where  she  could  consult 
Father  Galsworthy,  and  that,  therefore,  she  did  not  think 
she  need  ask  him  to  receive  her  again. 

It  was  while  still  upset  in  her  mind  by  this  interview 
and  its  termination  that  Hilda  had  unexpectedly  met 
her  husband  in  the  porch  of  the  church  at  Abbotsbury. 
A  few  days  afterwards  they  moved  up  to  London. 


CHAPTER  IX 

CONTRARY  to  her  usual  custom,  Lady  Merton  spent 
her  Easter  in  London.  As  a  rule,  she  made  a 
point  of  going  to  Rome  before  the  Holy  Week,  and  re- 
maining there  until  the  middle  or  end  of  June.  She  re- 
garded herself,  indeed,  as  a  kind  of  charge  d  'affaires  of  the 
English  Catholics  during  her  residence  in  the  Eternal  City. 
The  latter  flocked  to  her  to  procure  them  tickets  to  wit- 
ness the  Papal  functions,  and  recent  converts  of  a  certain 
class  beheld  in  her  the  portal  by  which  they  hoped  to  enter 
into  Roman  society  —  not  merely  the  Anglo-American 
world,  but  that  more  exclusive  one  in  which  they  should 
make  the  acquaintance  of  Roman  princes  and  princesses, 
and  meet  the  higher  dignitaries  of  the  Church  face  to 
face. 

This  year,  however.  Lady  Merton  had  reluctantly  post- 
poned her  visit  ad  limina.  She  felt  that  her  duties  to  the 
Church  would  be  more  worthily  fulfilled  by  remaining  in 
London  —  at  least,  until  after  her  grand-daughter  Lady 
Redman's  confinement.  Since  leaving  Abbotsbury  she 
had  several  times  corresponded  with  Mary  Russell.  The 
latter  had  been  a  little  surprised  to  learn  through  Lady 
Merton's  letters  tliat  Hilda  s  epistles  to  her  family  more 
than  ever  expressed  the  unhappiness  and  distress  of  mind 
under  which  their  writer  was  labouring.     She  thought  it 


CASTING    OF    NETS  123 

strange  that  Hilda  should  be  so  reticent  to  her  regarding 
her  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  at  the  same  time  so  ready  to 
discuss  them  with  others.  To  be  sure,  Lady  Merton  had, 
in  a  manner,  warned  her  that  this  was  the  case,  and  her 
explanation  of  it  had  seemed  to  be  a  very  natural  one 
under  the  circumstances. 

Mary  Russell,  however,  felt  a  little  hurt  with  her 
cousin's  wife.  Considering  herself  not  only  to  be  fulfilling 
Lady  Merton's  request  that  she  should  help  Hilda  in  her 
difficulties,  but  also  to  be  acting  for  Walter's  spiritual 
benefit  and  ultimate  happiness,  she  had  endeavoured  to 
make  the  former  understand  that  she  was  aware  of  her 
anxieties  and  sympathized  with  her  in  them.  The  result 
had  not  been  as  satisfactory  as  she  had  hoped,  and  Hilda's 
reserve  had  only  increased.  Her  advances  had  not  been 
responded  to  in  any  way,  and  Lady  Redman  had  displayed 
so  marked  a  disinclination  to  discuss  her  husband's  opin- 
ions, or  her  own  views  regarding  them,  that  Mrs.  Russell 
had  felt  snubbed,  and  had  judged  it  to  be  more  pi-udent 
not  to  make  a  second  attempt  to  induce  her  to  do  so.  She 
concluded  that  Lady  jMcrton  had  been  mistaken  in  think- 
ing that  Hilda  would  speak  all  the  more  freely  to  her  be- 
cause she  was  not  a  Catholic,  and  thought  that  it  was 
probably  for  this  very  reason  that  she  declined  to  take  her 
into  her  confidence. 

With  Walter,  however,  it  was  different.  He  and  Mary 
Russell  had  several  conversations  together  after  their  first 
discussion  in  the  Rectory  garden.  Having  once  made  up 
his  mind  to  consult  his  cousin  in  the  matter,  it  seemed  to 
be  a  relief  to  him  to  be  able  to  talk  about  his  wife.  Mary 
Russell  encouraged  him  to  do  so,  thinking  that  in  this  at 


124  CASTING    OF    NETS 

any  rate  she  was  rendering  good  service.  If  it  occurred  to 
her  that  Walter  talked  openly  to  her  because  he  was 
under  the  impression  that  his  wife  did  the  same,  she  did 
not  think  it  either  necessary  or  wise  to  undeceive  him. 
Lord  Redman  himself  had  no  doubt  that  it  was  owing  to 
his  cousin's  remonstrances  with  her  that  Hilda's  visits  to 
Abbotsbridge  had  been  far  less  frequent  during  the  fort- 
night or  so  which  elapsed  before  their  departure  for  Lon- 
don. He  had  congratulated  Mrs.  Russell  on  the  successful 
results  of  her  remonstrances,  and  on  this  point,  again,  she 
had  considered  it  more  prudent  to  allow  him  to  think  that 
she  had  earned  his  congratulations  and  had  spoken  to 
Hilda. 

Lady  Merton  had  been  by  no  means  pleased  when  she 
received  Mrs.  Russell's  letter  describing  the  failure  of  her 
endeavours  to  induce  her  grand-daughter  to  talk  about  her 
husband's  spiritual  shortcomings.  It  was  obviously  impos- 
sible that  Mrs.  Russell  should  be  able  to  arouse  Hilda  to 
a  sense  of  shame  that  even  the  Protestant  wife  of  the 
clergyman  of  her  husband's  parish  was  astonished  at  her 
indifference  to  his  irreligion,  if  she  were  not  allowed  to 
approach  the  question. 

Lady  Merton  felt  extremely  provoked  with  Hilda  for 
upsetting  her  plans,  and  she  took  the  note  to  Lady  Gwen 
dolen,  and  made   the   latter  read  it  in  her  presence  to 
Father  Galsworthy. 

She  was  more  annoyed  than  ever  when,  after  he  had 
listened  to  this  letter.  Father  Galsworthy  drew  another 
from  his  pocket-book. 

'I  have  a  communication  here,'  he  said,  ^ which,  I 
think,  throws  some  light  upon  this  matter.     It  is  from  my 


CASTING    OF    NETS  125 

friend  Father  Vincent,  tlie  sub-Prior  of  the  monastery  at 
Abbotsbridge.  You  made  his  acquaintance,  I  think,' 
he  added,  '  when  you  were  both  at  Abbotsbury  last 
Christmas.' 

'  Yes,'  said  Lady  IMcrton ;  '  Hilda  took  us  over  to  the 
monastery  clmrch  and  introduced  us  to  him.' 

'  He  writes  to  me,'  continued  Father  Galsworthy,  '  that 
he  is  very  much  concerned  at  Lady  Redman's  frame  of 
mind.  I  shall  not  be  disclosing  any  sacred  confidences  if 
I  read  you  a  part  of  his  letter.  The  details  he  gives  me 
do  not,  I  need  hardly  say,  enter  into  matters  which  passed 
between  him  and  Lady  Redman  under  the  seal  of  confes- 
sion. They  are  merely  his  own  comments  on  her  general 
attitude  towards  her  husband's  unfortunate  agnosticism  — 
the  result  of  impressions  formed  during  conversations  quite 
independent  of  the  confessional.' 

^  Of  course,'  said  Lady  ]\Ierton. 

*  It  ^\all  be  sufficient,  I  think,  if  I  read  the  following 
extract  from  his  letter,'  pursued  Father  Galsworthy  :  '  "  I 
deeply  regret  to  say  that  I  appear  to  have  failed  in  my 
efforts  to  awaken  Lady  Redman  to  a  proper  sense  of  her 
duties  as  the  Catholic  wife  of  an  infidel  husband.  An 
afi'ection  which  seems  to  me  to  be  essentially  material  and 
physical  has,  alas  !  obscured  her  powers  of  moral  percep- 
tion. My  last  conversation  with  Lady  Redman  on  these 
matters  was  far  from  satisfactory,  and  she  parted  from  me 
in  a  spirit  which  I  can  only  qualify  as  rebellious.  I  learn 
from  her  that  she  is  soon  to  be  in  London,  and  no  doubt 
you  will  see  her.  I  can  only  pray  that  your  counsel  may 
prevail,  and  that  1  may  be  forgiven  by  Almighty  God  for 
my  inability  to  induce  her  to  execute  the  task  which  He, 


126  CASTING    OF    NETS 

in  His  mercy  to  one  outside  His  Church,  has  so  clearly 
assigned  to  her." ' 

Lady  Merton  sighed  profoundly  as  Father  Galsworthy 
ceased  reading. 

'  Such  beautiful  humility ! '  she  murmured,  with  her 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  crucifix  of  her  rosary,  which  she 
was  drawing  through  her  hands.  '  Fatlier  Vincent,  like 
a  true  Christian,  ascribes  his  failure  to  touch  Hilda's 
heart  rather  to  his  own  incapacity  of  dealing  with  a 
penitent  than  to  her  obstinacy  and  rebelliousness.  Did 
I  not  tell  you,  Gwen,'  she  added,  turning  to  her  daughter, 
Hhat  Hilda  is  ridiculously  in  love  with  her  husband? 
Father  Vincent  is  evidently  of  the  same  opinion.  The 
poor  child  is  a  prey  to  an  earthly  passion  which  blinds 
her  to  all  sense  of  her  terrible  responsibilities.  Is  it  not 
so,  Father?' 

Father  Galsworthy  paused  for  a  moment  before  he 
answered  her. 

'  It  is  possible,'  he  said  slowly,  '  that  Father  Vincent 
may  be  right  in  blaming  himself  for  his  apparent  want 
of  success  in  this  case.  It  often  happens  that  a  doctor, 
however  skilful,  fails  in  his  diagnosis  of  a  bodily  ailment, 
where  another  no  more  skilful  than  he  succeeds  in  dis- 
covering the  source  of  the  malady.  It  is  the  same  with 
us  physicians  to  the  soul.  It  may  be  that  Father  Vin- 
cent has  been  a  little  too  precipitate  in  his  mode  of 
dealing  with  Lady  Redman's  difficulties,  owing  to  his 
not  having  had  sufficient  opportunities  of  studying  her 
character  and  disposition.  The  human  soul  is  a  far  more 
complex  and  sensitive  machine  than  the  human  body, 
but  it  is  equally  a   machine,  which  will  answer  to  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  127 

touch  of  the  expert,  and  refuse  to  respond  to  that  of  the 
amateur.  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  Father  Vincent 
is  an  amateur,  far  from  it.  But  I  can  conceive  that 
lie  may  have  neglected  to  make  suificient  allowance  for 
the  influence  of  that  earthly  passion  from  which  he  recog- 
nises that  Lady  Redman's  spiritual  state  proceeds.' 

^Ile  should  have  endeavoured  to  crusli  it,'  said  Lady 
ISIcrton  decidedly.  'If  he  had  used  his  authority  as 
a  priest,  Hilda  would  not  have  dared  to  oppose  his 
directions.' 

'  I  imagine  that  this  is  what  he  has  attempted  to  do. 
It  is  a  great  mistake,'  replied  Father  Galsworthy  abruptly. 
'You  cannot  crush  human  passions  among  human  beings 
who  live  in  the  world.  There  is  no  method  of  doing  so 
except  one,  and  that  is  the  embracing  of  a  religious  life.' 

'  But,  my  dear  Father  Galsworthy/  expostulated  Lady 
Gwendolen  mildly,  '  we  can't  all  be  monks  and  nuns. 
The  majority  of  us  have  not  the  vocation.' 

'No;  therefore  the  Church,  in  her  marvellous  wisdom, 
has  another  method  of  dealing  with  the  passions  and 
weaknesses  of  mankind.' 

'  And  what  is  that,  Father  ? '  asked  Lady  IVIerton. 

'  She  utilizes  them,'  replied  Father  Galsworthy.  '  That,' 
he  added,  '  is  one  of  the  di\dne  attributes  of  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Penance.  It  is  the  intuition  of  when  and  how 
the  human  passions  can  be  used,  and  converted  from 
dangers  into  blessings,  which  forms  the  diff'erence  between 
a  priest  who  is  expert  in  the  management  of  his  penitents 
and  one  who  is  not  so.' 

Lady  INIerton  looked  at  him  wdth  reverent  admiration. 

'  AhV  she  said,  '  I  wish  that  you  had  been  at  Abbots- 


128  CASTING    OF    NETS 

bridge,  dear  Father  Galsworthy.  I  feel  con\dnced  that 
poor  Hilda's  case  has  been  mismanaged,  not,  of  course, 
from  any  fault  of  Father  Vincent's,  but  from  the  fact  of 
his  not  properly  understanding  her  nature,  and  the 
peculiar  position  in  which  she  is  placed.' 

^  I  do  not  suppose  that  I  should  have  succeeded  where 
Father  Vincent  failed.  I  only  venture  to  think  that  he 
may  have  been  a  little  too  hasty.  So  delicate  a  matter 
needs  time  and  very  gentle  treatment.  It  should  be  the 
aim  of  Lady  Redman's  spiritual  director  to  try  and  ex- 
ercise that  very  gift  to  which  I  have  just  alluded.  The 
material  elements  of  the  love  she  bears  to  her  husband 
should  be  made  use  of,  not  trampled  down  and  despised. 
They  must  by  degrees  be  transformed  from  masters  into 
servants.  As  the  former,  they  are  pernicious;  as  the 
latter,  they  may  be  rendered  valuable.  I  do  not  know 
if  I  have  explained  myself,*  he  added. 

^  It  appears  to  me  to  be  a  dangerous  thing  to  inter- 
fere with  a  woman's  love  for  her  husband,'  said  Lady 
Gwendolen  hesitatingly. 

Lady  Merton  glanced  at  her  reprovingly. 

*  Really,  Gwen,  I  am  surprised  at  you,'  she  said.  ^  Of 
course  Father  Galsworthy  does  not  propose  to  do  that; 
it  would  be  monstrous.  As  I  understand  it,  all  that  he 
would  wish  is  that  Hilda's  eyes  should  be  opened,  and 
that  she  should  distinguish  between  that  true  love  for  her 
husband  which  will  be  the  happiness  and  the  consolation 
both  of  her  own  life  and  of  his,  and  the  mere  —  er  — 
human  affection  which  at  present  dominates  her.  Am  I 
not  right,  Father  ?  ' 

'  You  are  perfectly  right.  Lady  ^lerton.     As  you  know. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  129 

I  was  always  opposed  to  this  marriage.  I  do  not  ap[)rovc 
of  Catholies  marrying  those  professing  herctieal  or  sehis- 
matic  creeds.  The  risk  is  too  great,  and  I  have  seldom 
known  such  alliances  not  lead  to  undesirable  complica- 
tions. My  advice,  however,  was  overruled.  I  am  quite 
aware,  of  course,  that  you  all  consented  to  the  marriage 
from  the  laudable  desire  that  it  should  lead  to  the  saving 
of  a  soul.' 

*  And  to  the  extending  of  the  influence  of  our  holy 
religion  in  this  country,'  added  Lady  Merton. 

*  Precisely.  We  may  reasonably  hope  that  the  latter 
object  has  been  attained,  or  will  very  shortly  be  so,  as 
far  as  the  future  is  concerned.  But  we  cannot  be  sure 
of  it.  Lord  Redman  is  a  young  man.  It  must  in  all 
probability  be  many  years  before  we  can  indeed  say 
that  Abbotsbury  is  in  Catholic  hands,  and  that  another 
prominent  English  house  has  returned  to  the  faith  of 
its  forefathers.' 

Lady  Merton  nodded  her  head  approvingly. 

'Who  can  say,'  continued  Father  Galsworthy,  'what 
the  influence  of  a  Protestant  father— we  will  call  Lord 
Redman  for  courtesy's  sake  a  Protestant  —  may  not 
effect  upon  a  young  man?  In  her  solicitude  for  her 
children,  the  Church  protects  the  offspring  of  such  mar- 
riaores,  as  far  as  she  is  able  to  do  so,  by  the  most  wise 
stipulation  that  they  shall  be  educated  in  her  divine 
truths;  but  she  cannot  guard  them  against  the  baneful 
influences  of  the  Protestantism  of  this  country  in  their 
after-life.  The  dangers  to  which  they  are  exposed  are 
all  the  greater  from  the  fact  of  one  of  their  parents  being 
a   Protestant.     For  my   part,   I   wish   that   the   Church 

9 


ijo  CASTING    OF    NETS 

would  disallow  mixed  marriages  in  toto.  The  restrictions 
which  she  has  placed  upon  them  in  England  of  recent 
years  are  but  half-measures.  There  should  be  no  com- 
promising with  heretics.' 

^  Ah,  yes  !  all  you  say  is  very  true/  said  Lady  Merton. 
'It  would  be  better,  no  doubt,  if  mixed  marriages  were 
definitely  forbidden.  But,  as  they  are  not,  it  is  clearly 
the  duty  of  all  Catholics  to  endeavour  that  when  entered 
upon  they  should  so  far  as  possible  advance  the  cause  of 
the  Church.  I  often  wonder,'  she  added,  with  a  sigh, 
'what  I  should  have  done  if  all  my  children  had  been 
Catholics,  and  not  you  only,  Gwen  !  Our  choice,  you  see, 
is  so  limited  —  so  very  limited,'  she  concluded,  thinking  of 
the  marriageable  young  men  in  the  Catholic  world. 

Father  Galsworthy  thought  that  he  knew  very  well 
what  Lady  Merton  would  have  done,  and  so,  it  must 
be  confessed,  did  Lady  Gwendolen. 

'  I  do  not  understand,'  he  said, '  what  can  have  wrought 
such  a  change  in  Lady  Redman's  intentions.  During  her 
engagement  she  spoke  enthusiastically  of  the  joy  it  would 
be  to  her  to  be  the  means  of  bringing  her  future  husband 
into  the  Church.  I  was  surprised  that  she  did  not  appear 
to  realize  his  attitude  towards  Christianity  generally.' 

Lady  Merton  looked  at  him  with  a  frank  smile. 

'Dear  Father  Galsworthy,'  she  said,  'you  are  so  re- 
moved from  the  vanities  of  our  world  that  I  do  not  won- 
der you  are  surprised.  I  was  so  myself.  Hilda  deceived 
herself,  and,  quite  unintentionally,  poor  dear  child,  she 
deceived  us.  You  nmst  remember  that  she  was  very 
much  in  love.  Probably  we  are  better  able  to  make 
allowances  for  her  in  that  matter  than  you  could  be.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  131 

'  She  deceived  you  ?  '  asked  Father  Galsworthy. 
'Yes;  quite  unintentionally,  as  I  have  just  said,  but 
she  deceived  us  —  at  least,  she  certainly  did  nie  ;  and  I, 
of  course,  repeated  to  her  mother  what  she  had  told  me. 
From  all  she  said,  I  quite  thought  she  had  good  grounds 
for  believing  that  Walter  Redman  was  not  so  sceptical  as 
he  gave  himself  out  to  be.  Irreligion  in  young  men  is 
very  often  a  j^ose.  She  appeared  to  be  so  certain  of  being 
able  to  influence  him  when  once  they  were  married,  that 
I  felt  convinced  wc  were  very  sliort-sighted  in  attempting 
to  prevent  the  engagement.  I  am  quite  as  much  aston- 
ished as  you  are  at  her  apparent  indifference,  and  at  her 
unwillino-ness  to  further  her  husband's  conversion,  as 
indeed,  I  have  told  her  very  plainly.' 
^  And  what  did  she  say  ? ' 

'Well,  she  evidently  took  it  to  heart,'  replied  Lady 
Merton.  ^  There  is  no  doubt  that  she  had  not  realized 
the  position  at  all.  Mrs.  Russell,  whose  letter  you  have 
just  heard,  tells  me  that,  though  Hilda  will  not  speak 
to  her  about  it,  she  is  certainly  very  troubled  in  her 
mind,  w^hich  is  a  good  sign.' 

^We  must  do  our  best  to  remove  the  cause  of  her 
trouble,'  said  Father  Galsw^orthy. 

'Ah!'  exclaimed  Lady  Gwendolen.  'I  am  sure  you 
will  be  able  to  help  her  better  than  anyone  else  could  do. 
You  have  known  Hilda  from  her  childhood.  Father,  and 
I  feel  so  thankful  to  think  she  will  be  under  your  direction 
again,  now  that  she  is  coming  to  London.  And  w^ith  all 
that  is  before  her,  too  ! ' 

'  I  am  very  disappointed  about  Mrs.  Russell,'  said 
Lady  Merton,  '  for  I  had  hoped  that  she  would  have  been 


132  CASTING    OF    NETS 

able  to  do  so  much  with  Hilda.  However,  she  appears 
to  have  had  several  conversations  with  Walter  Redman, 
and  from  what  she  has  written  to  me  lately  I  think  she 
has  been  very  discreet.  She  has  allowed  him  to  think 
that  his  wife  is  confiding  in  her,  and  this,  of  course,  gives 
greater  weight  to  all  that  she  says  to  him.' 

*  Mrs.  Russell  is  likely  to  join  the  Church,  you  say  ? ' 
asked  Father  Galsworthy. 

Lady  Merton  smiled. 

*She  is  one  of  those  people  who  have  had  violent 
prejudices,'  she  replied,  *  and  is  now  in  a  state  of  bewil- 
derment because  many  of  them  have  been  exploded.' 

^  It  is  always  a  good  thing  when  the  wives  of  the 
Protestant  clergy  become  converts,'  said  Father  Gals- 
worthy ;  ^  it  brings  the  claims  of  the  Church  home  to 
their  husbands'  parishioners,  and  puts  the  husbands  them- 
selves in  a  very  false  position.' 

^I  mean  to  take  her  in  hand,'  said  Lady  Merton. 
'  She  has  promised  to  pay  me  a  visit  at  Ware  this  summer. 
It  certainly  would  be  a  great  thing  if  we  could  open  her 
eyes  to  the  truth,  and,  of  course,  the  more  the  Faith  is 
propagated  at  Abbotsbury  the  better.  There  is  so  much 
in  gradually  accustoming  people  to  an  idea,  especially 
in  a  country  place  where  old  traditions  have  to  be 
overcome.' 

*  But  is  there  not  a  fear,'  said  Father  Galsworthy,  '  that 
this  lady  may  only  succeed  in  attaching  Lord  Redman 
more  to  Protestantism  ?  He  will  naturally  conclude  that 
she  is  talking  to  him  in  the  interests  of  that  religion.' 

^  I  think  not,'  replied  Lady  Merton.  ^  He  is  very  much 
in  love  with  his  wife,  and  you  must  remember  that  he 


CASTING    OF    NETS  133 

will  always  believe  that  it  is  she  who  is  pionipting  Mrs. 
Russell' 

*But  even  so '  began  the  Oratorian. 

Lady  Mertou  interrupted  him. 

*  I  sec  what  you  are  afraid  of/  she  said,  smiling.  '  Mrs. 
Russell  herself  is  quite  satisfied  that  no  one  is  aiming  at 
Lord  Redman's  conversion  to  Catholicism.  8he  believes 
she  is  actiuG:  in  the  interests  of  her  own  Church,  and  that 
Hilda  merely  desires  that  her  husband  should  have  some 
religious  faith.  She  has  no  idea  that  she  is  fulfilling  the 
part  of  a  stepping-stone.' 

*  But  is  not  that  policy  rather  a  dangerous  one  ?  ' 

*  Something  must  be  risked  in  such  a  cause,  Father !  * 
replied  Lady  Merton,  looking  at  him  from  beneath 
drooping  eyelids.  '  Mrs.  Russell  is  not  a  very  far-seeing 
person,  I  think,'  she  continued.  '  She  will  play  the  part 
all  the  better  because  she  is  so  unconscious  of  having  as- 
sumed it.  If  Walter  Redman  is  to  be  converted  at  all, 
he  must  be  made  to  think  about  religion.  Protestantism 
will  be  as  good  as  any  other  form  to  begin  with.* 

^  But  he  might  never  get  any  further ! ' 

'  I  am  convinced  that  he  would.  Once  he  could  be 
made  to  believe  in  something,  his  love  for  Hilda,  and  hers 
for  him,  would  lead  him  on.  Besides,  there  will  be  the 
child  —  that  ought  to  prove  a  great  bond  of  union.' 

*  Father  Vincent  says  that  Lady  Redman  has  scruples 
of  conscience  —  or  what  she  believes  to  be  scruples  of 
conscience  —  about  breaking  a  certain  promise  which  it 
appears  she  made  to  her  husband  at  the  time  of  their 
marriage,'  said  Father  Galsworthy. 

*0h,'  replied  Lady  Merton,  ^a  very  ridiculous  thing! 


134  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Hilda  was  extremely  foolish  to  agree  to  it ;  but  then,  a 
young  girl  in  love  is  hardly  to  be  held  responsible  for  all 
that  she  may  say.  She  told  me  about  it  at  the  time, 
and  of  course  I  advised  her  not  to  commit  herself  in  any 
way.  It  seems,  however,  that  she  allowed  her  fiance  to 
extract  a  promise  from  her  that  she  would  never  attempt 
to  interfere  with  his  religious  opinions.  She  alluded  to 
this  piece  of  folly  at  Abbotsbury,  and  I  explained  to  her 
that  such  a  promise  could  not  be  binding.  Besides, 
Walter  Redman  has  no  religious  opinions  —  they  arc  all 
anti-religious ;  so,  under  any  circumstances,  it  could  not 
hold  good.' 

'  No  such  promise  could  hold  good  for  a  Catholic,'  said 
Father  Galsworthy  in  his  abrupt  voice. 

*  So  I  told  her.  I  pointed  out  to  her  that  she  must  have 
made  it  with  a  certain  mental  reservation,  for  she  was 
determined  to  effect  her  husband's  conversion.  I  cannot 
think  why  it  should  appear  to  her  to  be  so  serious  a  matter.' 

'  Let  us  hope  she  will  look  at  it  in  a  different  light  be- 
fore long,'  said  Father  Galsworthy.  'We  must  be  patient,' 
he  continued,  '  and  not  try  to  hurry  things  unduly.  I  am 
afraid  that  this  has  been  Father  Vincent's  mistake.  The 
birth  of  her  child  will  probably  work  a  great  change  in 
Lady  Redman's  mind,  and  she  will  be  likely  to  listen  more 
readily  to  advice.  Once  she  is  a  mother,  the  future  will 
mean  much  more  to  her.  It  must  be  our  task  to  make 
her  realize  how  grave  a  responsibility  lies  with  her,  espe- 
cially if  the  child  should  be  a  son.' 

'  And  my  son-in-law  must  be  thrown  more  with  Catholics, 
if  possible,'  said  Lady  Gwendolen.  '  He  must  be  taken 
out  of  a  Protestant  atmosphere.     Look  what  an  influence 


CASTING    OF    NETS  135 

Hilda's  society  has  already  had  upon  ^Irs.  Russell.  1  am 
conviuccd  that  had  it  not  been  for  this  absurd  promise  be- 
tween them,  and  Hilda's  folly  in  observing  it  so  strictly, 
she  would  have  had  quite  as  much  influence  over  her  hus- 
band, or  more.' 

'ISTo  doubt,'  said  Father  Galsworthy.  'I  agree  with 
you,  Lady  Gwendolen :  it  is  most  desirable  that  Lord 
Redman  should  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  Catholi- 
cism, and  learn  to  know  the  everyday  life  of  those  who, 
like  yourselves,  are  faithful  children  of  the  Church.  And 
now,'  he  added,  'I  must  leave  you.  I  think  that  these 
letters  have  shown  us  exactly  where  we  stand,  and  what 
we  shall  have  to  do  in  order  to  help  Lady  Redman,  and, 
we  will  hope,  with  God's  blessing.  Lord  Redman's  soul. 
They  will  be  here  in  a  few  days,  I  conclude,  and,  of 
course,  I  shall  go  and  call  on  her.  If  there  is  anything 
more  that  I  can  do,  you  will  let  me  know,  will  you  not  ? ' 
he  concluded,  turning  to  Lady  Merton. 

^  Dear  Father  Galsworthy,'  the  latter  replied,  ^  you  are 
of  such  help  and  comfort  to  us  in  our  anxieties  !  Xo, 
I  think  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said  for  the  present. 
Stay,'  she  murmured ;  ^  there  is  one  thing.  Before  you 
leave  us.  Father,  will  you  not  say  a  Hail  Mary  and  Our 
Father  with  us,  and  let  us  offer  them  to  St.  Joseph  to- 
gether, and  implore  his  aid  in  our  efibrts  to  advance  the 
cause  of  the  Church  of  which  he  is  patron  ? ' 

Lady  Merton  sank  on  her  knees  as  she  spoke.  Father 
Galsworthy  recited  the  opening  clauses  of  the  prayers, 
while  she  and  Lady  Gwendolen  joined  in  the  concluding 
portions. 


CHAPTER  X 

FATHER  GALSWORTHY  had  not  been  obliged  to 
call  upon  Hilda  in  St.  James's  Square  after  all. 
A  note  from  Lady  Gwendolen  informed  him  that  her 
daughter  and  Lord  Redman  had  duly  arrived  in  London, 
and  he  was  contemplating  paying  his  promised  visit,  when 
one  morning,  as  he  was  sitting  in  his  own  room  at  the 
Oratory,  he  was  informed  that  a  lady  was  anxious  to  see 
him.  He  descended  to  the  little  rooms  on  the  ground- 
floor  of  the  building  which  are  set  apart  for  the  reception 
of  those  who  wish  for  interviews  with  the  Fathers,  and 
in  one  of  these  he  found  Hilda  awaiting  him. 

She  evidently  had  not  heard  him  open  the  door,  and 
when  he  entered  the  apartment  she  was  standing  in  front 
of  a  print  of  St.  Philip  Neri,  which,  with  a  crucifix,  was 
the  only  object  that  adorned  its  walls.  A  small  tabic  and 
two  or  three  chairs  formed  the  furniture  of  the  room.  On 
one  of  the  latter  was  lying  a  stole  of  white  silk,  the  ends 
of  which  were  embroidered  with  a  cross  fringed  with 
gold  lace.  Confessions  were  often  heard  by  the  Fathers 
in  these  waiting-rooms,  and  the  vestment,  which  had 
evidently  been  forgotten,  was  worn  by  the  priests  who 
heard  them. 

Father  Galsworthy  paused  for  a  moment  on  the  thresh- 
old and  gave  his  visitor  a  keen,  comprehensive  glance. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  137 

Then   he   coughed   slightly.      Hilda   started   and   turned 
round. 

'Ah!'  he  said.  'Lady  Redman,  I  am  very  glad  to 
see  you.  I  hope  you  have  not  been  waiting  long/  and 
he  drew  a  chair  forward  and  motioned  to  her  to  sit  down. 
'  Lady  Gwendolen  told  me  that  you  had  arrived  in  Lon- 
don,' he  continued,  '  and  I  meant  to  have  taken  an  oppor- 
tunity of  calling  upon  you  whenever  I  should  find  myself 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  St.  James's  Square.  I  hope 
Lord  Redman  is  wxll  —  and  you  also  ? ' 

'  Walter  is  very  well,'  answered  Lady  Redman  ;  and 
then  she  paused. 

'  That  sounds  as  if  you  were  not  so,'  said  Father  Gals- 
worthy, looking  at  her. 

Hilda  laughed  a  little  nervously. 

'I?  Oh,  I  am  very  well.  Father  —  at  least,  as  well 
as  I  can  hope  to  be  just  now.' 

'  Yes,  yes,  I  understand  ;  but,  my  dear  child,  I  trust 
you  are  well  in  mind,  and  not  only  so  in  body.' 

Hilda  was  silent  for  a  moment. 

'No,'  she  said  presently  ;  '  it  is  that  which  I  have  come 
to  see  you  about.' 

Father  Galsworthy  took  up  the  stole  which  was  lying 
on  the  chair  near  him,  and,  folding  it,  placed  it  on  the 

table. 

'  You  have  done  quite  rightly  to  come  to  me  if  you 
are  in  any  difficulty,'  he  said.  'No  doubt  you  are 
troubled  about  your  husband.  It  must,  of  course,  be 
a  great  sorrow  to  you  to  know  that  he  is  an  unbeliever.' 

'I  am  troubled  about  myself,  Father,'  replied  Hilda 
in  a  low  voice. 


138  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'Yes?' 

'  I  consulted  Father  Vincent  at  Abbotsbridge.' 

'  And  could  he  not  help  you  ? ' 

'  No/  said  Hilda  wearil3\  '  He  could  not  understand. 
Nobody  seems  to  understand;  but  I  am  sure  tliat  you 
will  do  so.     That  is  why  I  have  come.' 

Father  Galsworthy  drew  his  chair  up  to  the  table  and 
rested  his  elbows  upon  the  latter. 

*  Let  us  hope  so,'  he  said  abruptly.  '  What  is  your 
trouble?  We  will  see  if  a  remedy  cannot  be  found 
for  it.' 

'Yes,'  answered  Hilda  eagerly.  'I  want  to  tell  you 
everything/  she  added,  '  from  the  beginning.  It  is  easier 
with  you  —  you  have  always  known  me,  and  you  also 
know  the  circumstances  of  my  marriage/ 

'  Tell  me  all,'  said  Father  Galsworthy  — '  all,  that  is, 
which  your  conscience  warns  you  that  you  ought  to  make 
me  acquainted  with.' 

'  You  remember  how,  when  I  was  engaged,  I  hoped 
to  be  the  means  of  bringing  Walter  into  the  Church  ? 
I  thought  then  that  he  was  unsettled  and  unhappy  in 
his  mind,  and  that  in  reality  he  was  longing  for  some 
form  of  faith  in  which  he  could  believe.' 

Father  Galsworthy  bent  his  penetrating  black  eyes 
upon  her,  but  he  said  nothing. 

'  Now,'  continued  Hilda  simply,  '  I  do  not  think  it  any 
more.  I  do  not  know  why  I  believed  it  when  they  told 
me  so.' 

'  When  they  told  you  so  ? '  repeated  Father  Galsworthy. 
'When  he  told  you  so,  you  mean.' 

Hilda  looked  at  him  with  surprise. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  139 

'  Walter  ? '  she  exclaimed — '  Redman  ?  lie  never  told 
me  so.     He  never  would  speak  to  me  about  religion.' 

Father  Galsworthy  frowned. 

'  Go  on,  my  child/  he  said. 

^  Since  I  have  been  married/  continued  Hilda,  '  I  have 
learned  to  understand  my  husband  better,  lie  is  per- 
fectly happy.  What  his  religion  may  be  I  do  not  know, 
but  to  say  that  he  possesses  none  is  as  untrue  as  to  say 
that  he  is  unhappy.  I  know  that  he  is  too  good  to  be 
the  latter.' 

'  Then  what  is  troubling  you  ?  '  asked  Father  Galsworthy 
gravely. 

Hilda  hesitated  for  a  moment. 

*  The  feeling  that  I  am  not  doing  my  duty  to  the  Church 
—  that  I  cannot  do  it  without  breaking  my  word  to  my 
husband.' 

^  And  why  are  you  not  doing  what  your  conscience  tells 
you  is  your  duty  as  a  Catholic  ?  ' 

^  Ah,  Father,  that  is  what  they  all  ask  me  —  my  fother 
and  mother,  my  grandmother,  Father  Vincent,  all  of 
them.' 

*  It  is  a  very  obvious  question.' 
'  I  know  it,  but ' 

'  But  what  ? ' 

*  How  can  I  explain  ?  It  clashes  with  that  other  duty 
which  to  me  is  sacred  —  my  duty  to  my  husband.' 

'  I  see,'  replied  Father  Galsworthy.     '  Well  ?  ' 

Hilda  looked  at  him  a  little  appcalingly.     His  manner 

was  not  encouraging,  and  she  felt   that   he  was  nearly 

as  difficult  to  talk  to  as  the  Dominican  at  Abbotsbridge 

had  been.     A  feeling  of  disappointment  came  over  her. 


I40  CASTING    OF    NETS 

She  had  hoped  for  something  different  from  the  Oratorian, 
who  had  known  her  all  her  life. 

'  You  do  not  understand/  she  said  to  him  after  a  pause, 
gathering  courage  as  she  spoke.  'You  wonder  why  I 
should  have  changed  my  intentions  since  my  marriage, 
and  why  I  have  not  long  ago  tried  to  convert  my  husband. 
I  dare  not.' 

Father  Galsworthy  made  a  movement  of  surprise. 

'  You  dare  not  ? '  he  repeated.  '  Why  ?  Is  Lord  Red- 
man so  formidable  ?  I  thought  you  said  that  he  was  so 
—  so  good  to  you.' 

Hilda  smiled  faintly. 

'  That  is  the  very  reason,'  she  replied  —  *  at  least,  it  is 
one  of  the  reasons.  We  are  so  happy  together.  Until 
my  grandmother  spoke  to  me  at  Abbotsbury  I  had  none 
of  these  doubts  and  fears  which  have  since  oppressed  me. 
I  have  seen  for  myself  how  contented  Walter  is,  and  how 
honourably  he  maintains  his  promise  to  allow  me  full 
liberty  to  practise  my  religion.' 

'  I  see/  said  Father  Galsworthy  again.  '  And  the  other 
reasons  —  what  are  they  ? ' 

'  As  I  say,  I  dare  not  interfere  with  his  happiness,  and 
be  the  one  to  break  our  mutual  promise.  Why  should  I 
be  faithless  to  that  promise  while  he  is  loyal  to  it  ?  What 
right  have  I  to  attempt  to  compel  him  to  embrace  my 
faith  when  his  own  suffices  to  him  ?  Can  you  not  under- 
stand, Father  ? ' 

'  Perfectly.' 

Hilda  gave  a  little  sigh  of  relief. 

'  I  felt  sure  that  you  w^ould,'  she  exclaimed. 

'But/  continued  Father  Galsworthy,  'you  have  only 


CASTING    OF    NETS  141 

told  me  your  reasons  for  neglecting  your  duty  to  the 
cause  of  the  Church.  You  have  not  told  nie  why  that 
neglect  should  give  you  so  much  uneasiness  of  mind  and 
conscience.' 

*  Father  Vincent  would  not  allow  that  1  have  any  right 
to  consider  what  I  believe  to  be  my  duty  to  my  husband 
if  tliat  duty  is  opposed  to  the  claims  of  the  Church.  He 
declares  that  I  have  no  true  love  for  my  husband,  and 
that  I  am  sacrificing  the  welfare  of  his  soul  and  my  own 
to ' 

'To  what?' 

'  To  a  purely  material  passion,'  replied  Hilda,  blushing. 

'  And  does  your  conscience  tell  you  that  Father  Vincent 
is  right?'  inquired  Father  Galsworthy. 

'  That  is  what  I  do  not  know.  Sometimes  I  think  he 
may  be  so,  and  that  my  love  for  Walter  is  making  me  too 
fearful  of  saying  or  doing  anything  to  disturb  the  happi- 
ness which  it  brings  me.  At  other  times  I  feel  that  Father 
Vincent  is  wrong,  and  that  my  action  —  or,  rather,  inaction 
—  is  prompted  by  very  different  motives.  JNIy  trouble  is 
that  I  am  not  sure  of  myself,  Father.  At  first  I  felt  so 
sure,  and  was  so  happy.  But,  little  by  little,  the  letters  I 
received  from  my  relations  disturbed  that  certainty.  Then 
I  went  to  Father  Vincent,  as  you  had  advised  me  to  do, 
and  all  he  said  to  me  unsettled  my  mind  still  more.  He 
could  not  understand  that  I  want  to  do  my  duty  as  a 
Catholic,  but  I  dare  not,  and  I  will  not,  fail  in  my  promise 
to  my  husband.  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  feel  that  the  one 
course  is  opposed  to  the  other.' 

'Are  you  sure  that  it  is  so  opposed?'  said  Father  Gals- 
worthy, less  abmptly  than  he  had  hitherto  spoken. 


142  CASTING    OF    NETS 

^  Father  Vinceut  assures  me  that  it  is,  and  my  own  rela- 
tions all  think  so.' 

Father  Galsworthy  was  silent  for  a  minute  or  two. 

^  Well,  my  dear  daughter/  he  said  presently,  '  what  we 
have  to  do  is  to  ascertain  whether  you  and  Father  Vincent 
have  not  somewhat  misunderstood  each  other,  and  whether 
you  have  not  misunderstood  yourself.  This  may  possibly 
turn  out  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  your  misgivings  and 
difficulties.  To  begin  with,  let  us  examine  this  promise 
which  you  and  your  husband  made  to  each  other  at  the 
time  of  your  engagement.  Why  did  you  agree  to  it,  if  you 
did  not  intend  to  keep  it? ' 

'  But  I  did  intend  to  keep  it.' 

'My  dear  child,  did  you  realize  to  what  you  were  com- 
mitting yourself?  You  were  deliberately  resigning  all  the 
influence  over  your  husband's  soul  which,  as  a  Catholic, 
you  were  bound  to  do  your  best  to  acquire  and  preserve. 
Aiid  yet,  at  the  same  time,  you  were  quieting  the  reproaches 
of  your  conscience  for  your  alliance  with  a  heretic  by  tell- 
ing yourself  that  you  were  to  be  the  means  of  bringing 
him  to  the  Church.  There  is  a  grave  contradiction  of 
motives  here,  my  daughter,  and  we  must  endeavour  to  dis- 
cover the  true  origin  of  this  contradiction.' 

'  I  can  explain  it,'  replied  Hilda  eagerly.  ^  I  know  that 
it  must  appear  to  have  been  an  act  of  deception  both  as 
regards  myself  and  as  regards  my  husband ;  but  in  reality 
it  was  not  so.  When  I  agreed  to  Walter's  condition  that 
we  should  never  interfere  with  each  other's  religious 
opinions,  I  did  so  under  the  impression  that  he  was  not 
happy  or  settled  in  his  views.  I  believed  that,  after  we 
were  married,  he  would  of  his  own  accord  release  me  from 


CASTING    OF    NETS  143 

the  promise,  and  that  we  sliouhl  be  able  to  talk  freely  of 
these  things  together.  Every  week  that  passed  showed 
me  how  mistaken  I  had  been  in  my  ideas  eoneerning  his 
longing  for  some  fixed  belief,  and  how  impossible  it  was 
for  me  not  to  adhere  to  my  part  of  the  compact  made  be- 
tween us.' 

'  Did  you  explain  this  to  Father  Vincent.' 

'  Yes.' 

'  And  what  did  he  say  ?  * 

'  He  told  me  that  I  had  allowed  myself  to  be  too  easily 
persuaded  that  Walter  had  any  religious  ideals  —  that  I 
had  permitted  my  inclinations  to  gain  the  mastery  over 
my  religious  faith.  I  do  not  like  to  say  what  he  gave  me 
to  understand  that  he  considered  to  be  the  real  impulses 
which  moved  me/  concluded  Hilda,  averting  her  gaze 
from  Father  Galsworthy. 

^  There  is  no  necessity  for  you  to  say  it,'  returned  the 
latter  quietly  ;  ^  I  quite  agree  with  him.' 

Hilda  coloured  violently. 

'  Father,'  she  said,  and  her  voice  trembled  a  little,  '  I 
thought  that  you  said  you  understood.  It  is  not  that ! ' 
she  added,  almost  passionately.  '  You  are  all  of  you 
mistaken.     I  am  quite  sure  it  is  not  that.' 

Father  Galsworthy  looked  at  her  calmly. 

'  And  if  it  were  ?  '  he  asked,  and  then  he  paused.  '  If 
it  were,'  he  continued,  always  looking  at  her  with  a 
steady,  tranquil  gaze,  ^  why  should  the  fact  so  greatly 
distress  you?  Listen  to  me,  my  child.  You  think  that 
we  do  not  understand  you.  It  is  not  we  who  do  not 
understand,  but  you  who  are  misunderstanding  yourself. 
It  is  no  sin  to  love  vour  husband,  and  in  all  such  love 


144  CASTING    OF    NETS 

there  must  be  a  carnal,  as  well  as  a  spiritual,  side.  The 
two  are  not  necessarily  opposed,  any  more  than  the  body 
and  the  soul  are  necessarily  opposed  to  each  other.  You 
are  mistaken  in  thinking  your  duty  towards  your  husband 
and  your  duty  towards  the  Church  to  be  at  variance,  and 
that  you  are  unable  to  carry  out  the  one  without  being 
disloyal  to  the  other.  Your  doubts  upon  these  points 
appear  to  me  to  arise  from  a  misconception  of  the  true 
nature  of  both.' 

'  If  I  could  only  see  how ! '  said  Hilda.  '  I  do  not  want 
to  be  a  bad  Catholic,  Father,'  she  added  earnestly. 

*  I  am  sure  that  you  do  not.  Your  uneasiness  of  mind 
is  a  proof  of  your  good  intentions.  You  told  me  just 
now  you  were  assured  that  your  husband  was  very  un- 
settled in  Ids  religious  views,  also  that  this  knowledge 
largely  influenced  you  in  your  hopes  of  converting  him, 
and,  it  may  be  presumed,  in  your  determination  to  marry 
him.     Wlio  gave  you  sucli  assurances  ? ' 

Hilda  looked  at  him  with  surprise. 

^Why,'  she  replied,  'my  grandmother.  She  told  me 
that  she  had  also  said  the  same  thing  to  you.' 

Father  Galsworthy  shook  his  head. 

'  You  deceived  yourself,  my  daughter,'  he  said.  '  This  is 
a  point  upon  which  you  should  examine  yourself  very 
closely.  I  do  not  mean  to  say,'  he  added,  *  that  you  did 
so  intentionally,  but  I  fear  that  in  this  matter  the  wish 
was  father  to  the  thought.  Your  love  for  Lord  Redman 
made  you  seize  upon  any  point  which  could  help  towards 
the  removal  of  the  very  natural  dislike  which  your  rela- 
tives entertained  for  the  idea  of  your  marriage  with  a 
Protestant.     Was  it  not  so?' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  145 

Hilda  was  silent.  She  could  not  deny  the  fact  that 
her  Imsband's  supposed  yearnings  for  some  religious  faith 
had  been  largely  used  by  her  in  her  conversations  with 
Lady  Merton  and  her  relations  as  an  argument  to  induce 
the  latter  to  consent  to  her  engagement.  Nevertheless, 
she  felt  that  Father  Galsworthy  was  not  presenting  the  case 
fairly  to  her.  As  Father  Vincent  had  done,  only  in  less  un- 
compromising language,  he  was  holding  her  responsible  for 
that  which  her  innermost  conscience  told  her  had  not  origi- 
nated with  herself,  but  had  been  the  suggestion  of  others. 

Father  Galsworthy  watched  her  quietly  for  a  moment 
or  two. 

^  Are  you  quite  sure,'  he  continued,  ^  that,  in  your 
anxiety  that  all  should  turn  out  as  you  and  your  lover 
wished,  and  in  order  to  support  your  own  very  natural 
hopes  that  through  your  love  he  would  be  brouglit  into 
the  Church,  you  did  not  unconsciously  lead  those  around 
you  to  regard  as  a  fact  what  w^as  in  reality  no  more  than 
a  supposition  on  your  part  ?  And  was  not  this  supposi- 
tion founded,  perhaps,  on  what  you  believed  that  you 
discerned  in  your  lover's  character  ?  Passion  is  a  very 
insidious  thing,  my  child,  and  when  we  are  under  its 
influence  we  are  too  apt  to  lose  the  mastery  over  our 
other  feelings.  We  are  ready  eagerly  to  grasp  at  any 
excuse  and  at  any  extenuating  circumstances  which  we 
can  find,  if  by  so  doing  we  can  facilitate  indulgence  in 
our  passion,  and  at  the  same  time  supply  our  consciences 
with  a  plausible  reason  for  having  given  way  to  it.  If 
you  had  been  quite  honest  with  yourself  in  the  beginning, 
you  would  not  now  have  to  regret  your  neglect  of  the 

truest  interests  of  your  husband's  spiritual  welfare.     You 

10 


146  CASTING    OF    NETS 

would  not  have  bound  yourself  to  that   promise  which 
now  fetters  you/ 

*  I  ought  never  to  have  agreed  to  it/  said  Hilda.  '  In 
that  I  have  since  reproached  myself  for  being  dishonest 
—  both  to  my  husband  and  to  myself.  I  should  have 
realized  that  I  was  failing  in  my  duty  as  a  Catholic, 
and  that  I  had  no  right  to  trust  to  other  agencies  to 
promote  the  conversion  of  my  husband,  which  I  then 
so  earnestly  desired.  I  have  often  repented  bitterly  of 
my  dishonesty;  for  now  I  know  that,  though  I  have 
kept  the  letter  of  my  promise,  the  spirit  in  which  it  was 
made  was  a  false  spirit.' 

^  Ah  !  you  realize  this  ? '  asked  Father  Galsworthy. 

'  I  cannot  help  realizing  it.  I  ought  to  have  told 
Walter  that  I  could  not  make  such  a  promise  when 
all  the  time  I  was  praying  that  it  might  be  given  to 
me  to  bring  him  into  the  fold  of  the  Church.' 

^  And  why  do  you  consider  yourself  as  bound  to  keep 
a  promise  the  spirit  of  which,  to  use  your  own  words, 
you  know  to  be  false  ? ' 

'  A  promise  is  a  promise,'  replied  Hilda  simply.  '  How- 
ever nmch  I  may  regret  having  made  it,  I  do  not  feel  the 
less  bound  to  respect  it.  Indeed,  I  feel  all  the  more 
bound  to  do  so  because,  if  I  have  deceived  my  husband 
once  by  pretending  to  be  indifferent  to  his  religious  views, 
I  do  not  wish  to  do  so  a  second  time  by  failing  to  observe 
a  mutual  compact  which  he  is  so  scrupulous  in  maintaining. 
That,'  she  continued,  '  is  another  thing  which  I  could  not 
make  Father  Vincent  understand,  nor  will  my  own  family 
see  what  I  mean.  To  me  it  is  so  clear.  I  regard  it  as  a 
point  of  honour.     If  my  husband  attempted  to  interfere 


CASTING    OF    NETS  147 

with  mc  ill  my  religion,  I  should  consider  tiiat  lie  was 
acting  dishonourably.  Would  he  not  have  an  equal  right 
to  think  the  same  of  me  under  similar  circumstances  ? ' 

Father  Galsworthy  listened  patiently  to  her.  Once 
or  twice  lie  seemed  to  be  about  to  interrupt  her,  but  he 
checked  himself. 

*  There  can  be  no  point  of  honour  in  a  matter  which 
has  its  origin  in  a  dishonest  act,'  he  said,  when  he  had 
heard  her  to  tlie  end.     'Here   again,'  he  continued,  'I 
think  Father  Vincent  was  right.     The  truth  is,  you  have 
been  deceiving  yourself  throughout ;  or,  rather,  you  have 
been  allo\\dng  your  love  for  your  husband  to  deceive  you. 
No,'  he  added,  as  Hilda  made  a  gesture  which  had  some- 
thing of  impatience  and  denial  in  it, '  do  not  misunderstand 
me,  my  dear  child.     I  am  not  blaming  you.     As  I  said 
before,  it  is  no  sin  for  a  wife  to  love  her  husband ;  and 
even  the  grosser  and  more  material  part  of  that  love  can, 
if  rightly  used,  be  purged  of  its  sinful  nature.     With  what 
other  object  was  the  Sacrament  of  Matrimony  instituted 
by  God   and  approved   by  the  Church?     But   this,  the 
carnal   element  in  the  love  which  should  exist  between 
husband  and  wife,  has  need  of  careful  watching,  lest  it 
assume  the  mastery  over   that   spiritual   element   which 
alone  can  bring  true  happiness  in  the  married  state.     It 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  former  is  a  concession 
by  God  to  the  weakness  of  human  nature,  not  to  the 
strength   of  human   affection.      Have   you   not   been    in 
danger   of  forgetting    this?     And    is   not   your   present 
state  of  trouble  and  difficulty  the  direct  result  of  this 
forgetfulness  ? ' 

'  How,  Father  ? '  murmured  Hilda. 


148  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  I  will  tell  you.  It  began  by  allowing  you  to  deceive 
others;  it  has  ended  by  encouraging  you  to  deceive 
yourself.  It  has  blinded  you  to  a  proper  sense  of  your 
responsibilities  towards  the  higher  and  more  spiritual 
attributes  of  your  love.  It  has  made  you  fearful  where 
you  should  have  been  courageous,  weak  where  you  should 
have  been  strong.  You  are  content  to  seize  hold  of  any 
pretext  which  can  afford  you  an  excuse  for  turning  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  remonstrances  of  your  conscience.  You 
dread  to  disturb  your  present  happiness,  but  you  are  not 
afraid  to  remain  inactive  while  the  soul  of  the  husband 
whom  you  profess  to  love  is  in  deadly  peril.  My  dear 
daughter,  can  you  wonder  that  you  are  troubled?  You 
should  rather  thank  God  that  you  are  so,  as  those  who  love 
you  thank  Him  for  allowing  your  conscience  to  speak  and 
arouse  in  you  a  truer  sense  of  your  duties  towards  Him.' 

Father  Galsworthy  paused,  and  Hilda's  gaze  strayed 
beyond  him  to  the  window,  whence  she  could  see  across 
the  piece  of  garden  outside  it  to  the  Brompton  Road. 
She  followed  absently  the  stream  of  cabs  and  omnibuses 
passing  to  and  fro  along  the  thoroughfare,  and  found 
herself  wondering,  with  that  curious  interest  in  triviali- 
ties which  so  often  overtakes  us  in  moments  of  mental 
anxiety  or  emotion,  what  the  people  who  sat  on  the  tops 
of  the  latter  were  thinking  about  as  they  looked  over 
the  boundary  wall  into  the  precincts  of  the  Oratory. 
What  were  the  lives  of  those  careless-looking  human 
beings  speeding  eastward  and  westward  ?  Did  they  give 
a  thought  in  passing  to  the  tales  of  moral  distress  and 
perplexity  which,  perchance,  were  being  told  a  few  yards 
away  from  them  ? 


CASTING    OF    NETS  149 

The  sound  of  Father  Ualsworthy's  voice  arrested  IlihUi'w 
wandering  thouglits.  His  tones  were  somewhat  less  harsh 
and  abrupt  than  they  had  hitherto  been. 

*You  think  that  1  am  judging  you  severely,  do  you 
not,  my  ehild?'  he  was  saying  to  her.     'And  yet,'  he 
added,  '  I  hope  to  make  you  reahze  how  I  am  striving 
to  show  you  the  true  causes  of  your  distress  of  mind,  in 
order  that,  knowing  them,  you  may  be  able  to  eradicate 
them,  and  so  procure  for  yourself  that  peace  for  which 
you  arc  longing.     I  hope  I  have  succeeded  in  explaining 
to  you  how  you  have  deceived  yourself —  or,  rather,  how 
your  carnal  love  for  your  husband  has  deceived  you  and 
made  you  incapable  of  correctly  analyzing  your  own  mo- 
tives.    There  is  another  point,  however,  which  I  want 
to  impress  upon  you.     Do  not  think  that  we,  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Church,  to  whom  you  have  turned  for  advice, 
are  not  able  to  sympathize  with  you  in  your  very  natural 
repugnance  to  breaking  what  I  am  sure  you  conscien- 
tiously believe  to  be  a  sacred  promise.     I  said  just  now 
that  it  was  possible  Father  Vincent  misunderstood  your 
motives,  and  I  still  believe  that  he  did  so.     He  does  not 
know  you  as  I  know  you,  and,  though  our  conclusions 
are  the  same,  I  should  not  counsel  you  to  attempt  to 
interfere  with  the  natural  course  of  your  wifely  affection 
for  your  husband.     I  would  not  have  you  despise  it,  nor 
even  have  you  regard  it  as  the  direct  cause  of  your  diffi- 
culties, but  rather  as  the  indirect  cause.    The  direct  cause, 
my  daughter,  has  been  your  own  want  of  faith  in  the 
Church,  your  own  heedlessness   of  the  Church's   claims 
and   authority.     Had   you   possessed   a   proper   sense  of 
these,  even  your  material  love  for  your  husband  would 


I50  CASTING    OF    NETS 

have  been  powerless  to  make  you  forget  your  responsi- 
bilities toward  his  soul.  Have  you  considered  the  difter- 
ence  between  your  position  and  his  ?  I  do  not  think 
you  can  have  done  so.  You  have  the  priceless  heritage 
of  the  Faith,  and  it  rests  with  yourself  to  be  a  partaker 
in  all  those  joys  to  which  the  Church  can  admit  her 
children.  But  how  is  it  with  your  husband  ?  He  is  not 
even  a  believing  Protestant.  He  cannot,  therefore,  par- 
ticipate in  those  spiritual  benefits  which  we  may  reason- 
ably hope  that  God  in  His  mercy  will  eventually  confer 
on  all  conscientious  believers  in  Christianity,  even  though 
these  be  not  of  His  Church.  You  have  married  this 
man,  my  child,  whose  soul  is  condemned  to  everlasting 
punishment  unless  a  means  of  grace  be  found  to  intervene 
and  save  him  from  himself  and  from  his  doom.  When 
your  hour  comes  for  judgment,  will  it  serve  your  cause, 
think  you,  to  plead  this  loyalty  to  a  compact  which  you 
know  in  your  heart  to  be  sinful  —  a  compact  made  with 
the  Evil  One  to  hinder  the  divine  truth  from  reaching 
the  ears  and  the  heart  of  a  soul  which  is  groping  in  the 
darkness  in  search  of  it?  Will  you  not  be  asked  what 
steps  you  took  —  you,  a  Catholic  —  to  help  your  husband 
in  his  struggle  with  scepticism  and  unbelief?  And  what 
will  your  answer  be  ? ' 

Hilda  hid  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  her  bosom  heaved 
convulsively.  The  strain  was  too  great  after  weeks  of 
doubt  and  self-torture.  Father  Galsworthy  had  struck  a 
chord  on  the  keyboard  of  the  Unknown  which  he  knew 
would  find  an  awakening  echo  in  the  heart  of  the  woman 
before  him. 

'  There  is  yet  another  point  to  remind  you  of,'  he  con- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  151 

tinned  pitilessly.  ^  You  will  soon  be  a  mother.  I  need 
not  warn  you  of  the  bodily  peril  with  whieh  you  must 
shortly  be  brought  faee  to  face.  It  is  not  the  sense  of 
personal  danger,  or  the  fear  that  you  might  be  called  to 
give  an  account  of  your  stewardship  sooner  than  you  had 
expected,  which  I  should  wish  to  be  the  means  of  arous- 
ing you  to  a  right  understanding  of  your  responsibilities. 
The  future  of  other  souls,  besides  that  of  your  husband, 
may  depend  upon  your  recognising  these  responsibilities 
—  of  souls  yet  to  be  born  throughout  all  the  ages.  Arc 
you  prepared  to  face  the  risks  of  making  no  effort  to 
prevent  your  children,  and  those  who  come  after  them, 
from  being  exposed  to  the  influence  of  infidelity  ?  Is  the 
keeping  of  a  promise,  hastily  made  and  indefensible  in 
itself,  and  the  selfish  dread  of  interfering  with  a  material 
happiness,  to  lose  countless  souls  to  the  Church  and  work 
your  own  future  misery?  Ah,  my  child,  it  is  you,  not 
we,  who  do  not  understand  I  it  is  you  who  are  walking 
blindly  and  heedlessly  towards  an  abyss,  while  we  shrink 
back  appalled  at  what  we  see  before  you  and  those  who 
depend  upon  you,  and  strive  to  hold  you  back.' 

^  What  can  I  do.  Father  ?  Tell  me,  ^vhat  can  I  do  ?  * 
exclaimed  Hilda,  in  a  broken  voice. 

Father  Galsworthy  rose  from  his  chair  and  paced  up  and 
down  the  room  with  the  firm,  swinging  step  which  belonged 
rather  to  the  cavalry  officer  than  to  the  priest. 

*Do?'  he  said  abruptly.  'Your  duty  —  that  is  what 
you  have  to  do.  Refuse  to  listen  any  longer  to  the  voices 
which  are  striving  to  keep  you  from  it.  Answer  them 
that  you  know  them  for  what  they  are,  and  whence  they 
come.    They  wiU  soon  leave  you  in  peace.    Break  through 


152  CASTING    OF    NETS 

this  imaginary  barrier  which  separates  you  from  your  hus- 
band in  spiritual  things  and  only  permits  you  the  enjoy- 
ment of  material  things.  Oblige  him  to  listen  to  you. 
"  The  kingdom  of  Heaven  sufFereth  violence,  and  the  vio- 
lent do  take  it  by  force."  You  will  have  trouble,  perhaps. 
The  tranquillity  and  domestic  happiness  which  you  have 
prized  so  much,  and  for  which  you  have  risked  so  much, 
may  seem  to  break  up  and  disappear  for  a  time.  But 
what  of  that  ?  The  knowledge  that  you  are  working  to 
save  your  husband's  soul,  that  you  are  a  Catholic  fighting 
for  the  cause  of  the  Church,  will  support  you  through  the 
darkest  hours.  The  Blessed  Mother  of  God  will  be  by 
your  side,  and  every  day  the  path  will  become  clearer  to 
you.' 

Hilda  sat  listening  in  silence  to  Father  Galsworthy's 
words,  her  mind  full  of  conflicting  emotions.  It  was  all 
so  plausible,  and  the  Oratorian's  advice  was  so  sound, 

but and  here  she  found  herself  confronted  by  the 

same  doubts  which  she  had  experienced  during  her  inter- 
views with  Father  Vincent  at  Abbotsbridge.  It  seemed  to 
her  that  Father  Galsworthy  had  taken  her  case  out  of  her 
hands  and  dexterously  worked  it  up  so  that  it  no  longer 
was  her  own.  He  had  imputed  to  her  motives,  thoughts, 
and  feelings  which  she  was  not  conscious  of  possessing, 
or  of  ever  having  possessed.  He  had  taken  it  for  granted 
that  she  had  deceived  her  relatives  into  believing  her  hus- 
band to  have  an  unsatisfied  desire  for  some  form  of  religi- 
ous belief,  and  her  conscience,  to  which  her  counsellor  had 
so  often  appealed,  and  of  which  he  appeared  to  hold  the 
key,  told  her  that  she  had  done  nothing  of  the  kind.  She 
was  convinced  it  was  not  she  who  had  assumed  that 


CASTING    OF    NETS  153 

Walter  would  surely  become  a  Catholic  after  his  marriage 
to  her.  The  idea  had  beeu  suggested  to  her  —  how,  she 
had  no  very  clear  remembrance  —  and  she  had  caressed  it 
and  dwelt  upon  it  until  she  liad  grown  to  regard  it  as  a 
fact.  But  Father  Galsworthy  had  beeu  so  explicit  in  his 
statement,  so  clear  in  his  deductions,  that  she  felt  almost 
persuaded  she  had  indeed,  as  he  said,  aHowed  the  wish  to 
be  father  to  the  thought,  and  that  she  had  traded  upon 
Walter's  imaginary  yearnings  after  religious  faith  in  order 
to  overcome  the  difficulties  which  stood  in  the  way  of  her 
engagement,  and  the  material  satisfaction  of  her  love.  She 
felt  unable  to  separate  in  her  own  mind  the  truth  of  Father 
Galswortliy's  words  from  the  untruth  which  she  was 
vaguely  conscious  lurked  behind  them,  or  the  half-truths 
in  them  wliich  were  the  hardest  of  all  to  dispute.  She 
was  not  aware  that  she  had  been  subjected  to  an  experi- 
mental system  in  a  psychological  laboratory,  and  her  mind 
was  left  dazed  and  confused,  conscious  only  of  doubt  and 
of  a  great  w^eariness. 

Had  Father  Galsworthy  stopped  short  at  attempting 
to  demonstrate  her  culpability  in  having  allowed  her 
material  love  for  her  husband  to  permit  her  to  deceive 
herself  and  others,  a  sense  of  justice  to  lierself  would 
probably  have  asserted  itself  in  Hilda,  as  it  had  done  in 
the  case  of  her  last  interview  with  Father  Vincent.  At 
the  bottom  of  her  heart  there  remained  the  consciousness 
that  her  engagement  to  Walter  Redman  had  been  the 
result  of  a  mutual  affection  —  a  purely  human  love,  with 
which,  whatever  the  priests  might  say,  spiritual  things 
had  nothing  to  do.  It  was  in  vain  that  she  tried  to 
persuade  herself  that  this  was  not  the  case.     She  had 


154  CASTING    OF    NETS 

wanted  to  possess  Walter,  and  Walter  had  wanted  to 
possess  her.  This  was  the  stubborn  truth,  which  in- 
sisted upon  asserting  itself,  notwithstanding  all  the 
sophistries  which  sought  to  disguise  it  and  hide  it  out 
of  sight  beneath  a  cloak  of  spirituality,  as  though  it  were 
some  unclean  thing. 

Hilda  was  conscious  of  the  fact  that,  when  she  and 
her  husband  had  fallen  in  love  with  one  another,  the 
question  of  their  individual  ideas  upon  matters  of  religion 
had  been  of  no  consideration  whatever  to  either  of  them, 
and  she  had  been  obliged  to  confess  to  herself  that  it 
was  only  owing  to  the  accident  of  her  being  a  Catholic 
that  the  question  had  ever  arisen.  It  was  her  Church 
which  was  responsible  for  the  introduction  of  the  super- 
natural into  the  natural  element  of  their  affection.  She 
was  quite  aw^are  that  the  Church  to  which  her  husband 
nominally  belonged  would  have  advanced  no  such  claims, 
and  would  have  formulated  no  such  stipulations  as  those 
to  which  the  latter  had  been  obliged  to  submit  before 
he  could  make  her  his  wife. 

The  more  closely  she  questioned  herself  upon  the 
subject,  the  clearer  did  it  become  to  her  that  not  only 
had  her  anxiety  that  Walter  should  embrace  her  faith 
been  non-existent  at  the  time  when  she  first  began  to 
love  him,  but  that  this  had  been  an  element  which  had 
been  introduced,  or  had  introduced  itself,  gradually  into 
her  love,  and  which  was  altogether  extraneous  to  it.  It 
was  in  the  introduction  of  this  extraneous  element  that 
the  deception  lay  for  which  her  spiritual  directors  and 
her  relations  sought  to  hold  her  responsible.  The  single 
deception,  however,  for  which,  in  her  calmer  moments 


CASTING    OF    NETS  155 

of  reflection,  she  felt  able  to  reproach  herself,  was  the 
promise  made  to  her  husband  to  leave  him  absolute  free- 
dom in  his  religious  opinions  when  she  had  already  allowed 
herself  earnestly  to  desire  his  conversion  to  her  own.  It 
was  Walter  whom  she  felt  she  had  deceived;  not,  as 
Father  Galsworthy  insisted,  herself  and  her  relations. 

So  long  as  Father  Galsworthy  had  confined  his  argu- 
ments to  these  limits,  Hilda  had  experienced  a  series  of 
conflicting  emotions  in  which  perplexity,  distrust,  and  dis- 
belief had  in  turn  played  their  parts.  The  speciousness 
of  his  arguments  notwithstanding,  she  felt  that  he  did  not 
comprehend  her  scruples  and  difficulties  any  better  than 
her  Dominican  adviser  had  done. 

Father  Galsworthy,  however,  had  carried  his  reasoning 
further  than  the  latter.  He  had  entrenched  himself  be- 
hind the  spiritual  powers  of  the  Church,  and  had  revealed 
a  picture  of  the  future  results  of  Hilda's  neglect  to  assert 
the  Church's  claims  the  more  terrible  because,  from  all 
which  the  Church  taught  her,  and  required  her  to  believe, 
it  was  a  logical  one. 

Against  the  judgment  of  the  Church,  delivered  by  a 
priest  of  the  Church,  there  was  no  possible  appeal,  and 
Hilda's  religious  training  told  her  that  Father  Gals- 
worthy's arguments  as  to  the  ine\dtab]c  results  of  her 
refusal  to  try  and  compass  her  husband's  conversion  both 
to  his  soul  and  her  own,  and  probably  to  those  of  their 
descendants,  were  unanswerable. 

A  great  horror  possessed  her  as  she  listened  to  his 
words.  The  question  as  to  whether  or  not  she  were  too 
much  under  the  domination  of  a  carnal  love,  or^whether 
or  not  she  had  allowed  her  conduct  to  be  swayed  by  this 


156  CASTING    OF    NETS 

love,  shrank  into  utter  insignificance  beside  the  vista 
which  unfolded  itself  before  her  imagination  in  response 
to  Father  Galsworthy's  reasoning.  How  could  she  ven- 
ture, in  the  face  of  such  a  warning,  proceeding  from 
such  a  source,  to  refuse  to  act  up  to  her  responsibilities 
as  a  Catholic?  She  had  declared  that  she  dared  not 
undertake  the  responsibility  of  interfering  with  her  hus- 
band's religion ;  but  could  she  dare  to  incur  that  of 
allowing  his  soul  to  perish  everlastingly  for  want  of  an 
effort  on  her  part  to  save  it?  And  her  children,  when 
they  came  —  her  little  innocent  children  —  what  if  they 
should  fall,  as  Father  Galsworthy  had  warned  her,  under 
the  influence  of  their  father's  infidelity?  Had  she  not 
read  that  it  was  better  for  a  man  to  have  a  millstone 
hanged  round  his  neck  and  to  be  cast  into  the  sea,  than 
that  he  should  offend  one  of  Christ's  little  ones  ?  What, 
then,  should  be  the  condemnation  of  a  mother  who  had 
left  her  little  ones'  souls  in  danger  of  eternal  loss  ? 

As  she  listened  to  Father  Galsworthy's  words,  memo- 
ries of  the  old,  peaceful  life  at  Cawarden  in  the  days  of 
her  girlhood  returned  to  Hilda's  mind.  She  was  in  the 
chapel  again,  kneeling  before  the  high  altar,  joining  in 
the  litanies  and  the  hymns  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  or 
bowing  her  head  to  receive  the  Body  of  her  Saviour 
from  the  hands  of  the  old  chaplain  who  had  listened  to 
her  childish  confession  and  understood  so  well  all  her 
childish  troubles  and  diflficulties.  It  hfKl  all  been  so 
easy,  and  so  happy,  in  those  years  when  heaven  and  hell 
seemed  far-away  places,  and  the  troubles  of  tlie  day 
melted  away  in  the  hours  of  the  night  —  to  be  forgotten 
with  the  morrow's  sun. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  157 

Father  Galsworthy  had  resumed  Iiis  scat  and  sat  watch- 
ing Hilda  in  silence. 

Every  now  and  then,  as  some  door  was  opened,  the 
sound  of  chanting  and  the  strains  of  the  great  organ 
echoed  down  the  corridor  from  the  church,  and  penetrated 
into  the  room,  while  from  without  came  the  confused 
roar  of  the  traffic  and  the  cries  of  the  flower-sellers. 

Hilda  rose  from  her  chair.  She  was  very  pale,  and 
her  face  bore  the  traces  of  the  emotion  which  she  endeav- 
oured to  conceal. 

'  Well,  my  child,'  said  Father  Galsworthy,  '  have  you 
considered  carefully  what  I  have  told  you  ?  Believe  me, 
the  path  is  not  so  hard  a  one  as  you  think.' 

Hilda  Redman  looked  at  him. 

'  Yes,'  she  replied  ;  ^  I  have  considered.' 

'  And  you  will  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Church  ?  * 

*  I  do  not  know.' 

'  You  do  not  know  ? '  repeated  Father  Galsworthy,  in 
amazement.  ^  My  daughter,'  he  added,  '  do  you  presume 
to  doubt  the  authority  of  that  voice  ? ' 

'Not  over  myself  —  no,  but  over  my  husband.' 

'The  Church  has  authority  over  all  souls,  even  over 
those  who  are  the  most  estranged  from  her.  Think  of 
what  I  have  said  to  you  to-day,  I  implore  of  you,  my  dear 
child.  Do  not  allow  valuable  time  to  slip  away,  for  who 
can  tell  how  much  may  be  granted  to  you  in  which  to 
fulfil  your  duty?  Reflect  what  the  consequences  must  be 
if  you  should  only  realize  your  responsibilities  when  it  is 
too  late.  You  are  tired,  upset.  Quiet  reflection  will  calm 
you  and  open  your  heart  to  the  call  of  our  holy  religion. 
Come  to  me  again  whenever  you  wish,  but  do  not  turn 


158  CASTING    OF    NETS 

back  from  the  task  which  Almighty  God  has  sent  you ;  do 
not  dare  to  delay  any  longer  in  striving  to  execute  it.  Do 
you  wish  to  make  your  confession  before  you  go?'  he 
added,  taking  up  the  stole  from  the  table. 

Hilda  shook  her  head. 

'  No,  Father,'  she  said,  in  a  low  voice,  holding  out  her 
hand.  '  I  will  leave  you  now.  I  am  tired,  and  I  want  to 
think.' 

Father  Galsworthy  accompanied  her  to  the  door  of  the 

room. 

'You  have  your  carriage  waiting  for  you? '  he  asked. 

'  I  told  them  to  wait  for  me  outside  the  door  of  the 
church.  I  think  I  will  go  in  there  for  a  little  while  before 
I  go  home.' 

'Do,  my  child,  and  implore  the  aid  of  our  Blessed  Lady 
of  Good  Counsel;  said  Father  Galsworthy.  '  Come  this 
way,  then,'  he  added,  and  took  her  down  a  passage  whence 
a  door  communicated  with  the  church.  '  I  will  remember 
you  in  the  Holy  Mass,'  he  said.  '  God  bless  you,  my  child ! 
Pray  for  me.' 

And  opening  the  door,  he  drew  back,  and  allowed  Hilda 
to  enter  the  sacred  building  alone. 


CHAPTER  XI 

'  T     ET  us  hope,  Gweii,  that  she  and  Walter  will  regard 

I  -J  it  as  a  waniiug  sent  from  God  —  a  sign  of  His 
displeasure/ 

Lady  Merton  was  sitting  with  lier  daughter  in  tlie 
library  of  the  Redmans'  house  in  St.  James's  Square. 
Lady  Gwendolen  looked  anxious  and  unhappy,  and  every 
now  and  then  she  glanced  nervously  at  the  door,  as  if 
expecting  someone  to  enter  it  with  news  which  might  be 
of  a  bad  nature. 

'  It  is  marvellous,'  continued  Lady  Merton,  *  how  clearly 
God  speaks  to  us  sometimes  !  Do  not  be  afraid,  Gwen  ;  I 
feel  sure  that  Hilda  will  recover,  and  in  due  time  we  shall 
realize  that,  in  His  all-seeing  wisdom.  He  has  visited  us 
with  this  trial  for  a  merciful  purpose.' 

^I  feel  so  terribly  anxious,'  exclaimed  Lady  Gwendolen, 
'  even  though  Siddons'  last  report  was  more  favourable. 
Walter  promised  to  let  me  know  at  six  o'clock  how  she 
was.  It  is  past  six  now,'  she  added,  glancing  at  the  clock 
on  the  chimney-piece. 

'  At  any  rate,'  said  Lady  Merton,  '  Hilda  is  in  good 
hands.  Siddons  is  wonderfully  clever,  and  he  is  confident 
that  all  will  go  well  with  her.  I  must  say,'  she  continued, 
'  that  he  has  been  very  arbitrary  in  excluding  us  all  from 
her  room,  and  I  am  very  angry  with  him  for  refusing  to 


i6o  CASTING    OF    NETS 

employ  the  Sister  whom  I  recommended.  She  is  an  excel- 
lent nurse,  well  accustomed  to  these  cases,  and  it  is  shock- 
ing to  think  that  when  her  life  is  in  danger  poor  dear  Hilda 
should  be  surrounded  by  nobody  but  Protestants.  Do  you 
know  what  I  cannot  help  suspecting,  Gwen  ? ' 

'  What,  mamma  ? ' 

'  Why,  that  Walter  has  persuaded  Siddons  not  to  allow 
us  to  come  near  her,  and  that  Sister  Veronica  was  not  per- 
mitted to  nurse  her  because  she  is  a  religious.  They  want 
to  keep  all  Catholics  away  from  her.' 

'  Oh,  I  really  don't  think  so,'  replied  Lady  Gwendolen. 
*  Siddons,  of  course,  likes  to  have  his  own  nurse  in  so  crit- 
ical a  case  —  all  these  great  accoucheurs  do.' 

'These  doctors  think  of  nothing  but  the  body,'  said 
Lady  Merton,  sighing.  'I  told  Walter  so,  and  I  must 
say  he  was  quite  rude  to  me.  Ah  ! '  she  added,  check- 
ing herself  abruptly  as  the  door  of  the  library  opened, 
'here  he  is.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  rose  hurriedly  from  her  seat,  and  went 
forward  to  meet  her  son-in-law. 

'  How  is  she  ?  '  she  asked,  in  anxious  tones. 

'  Better,  thank  God  ! '  said  Lord  Redman.  '  Siddons  is 
much  more  satisfied  about  her.' 

He  was  very  pale,  and  his  voice  shook  a  little  as  he 
replied  to  Lady  Gwendolen's  question. 

'  Can  I  see  her  ? '  asked  the  latter. 

'I  am  afraid  not.     She  must  see  no  one.' 

Lady  Merton  gave  a  snort  of  disapproval. 

'  Really,  Walter,'  she  said, '  is  her  own  mother  always  to 
be  kept  from  her?  That  is  carrying  things  a  little  too 
far/ 


CASTING    OF    NETS  i6i 

Lord  Redman  looked  at  her  (quietly. 

'  Do  you  think  so  ? '  he  replied  coldly. 

Lady  Merton  felt  considerably  ruftled  in  her  temper. 
She  was  not  accustomed  to  haviii^^  her  opinions  ignored, 
and  the  tone  of  Walter  Redman's  voice  was  more  than 
significant. 

*I  certainly  do  think  it,'  she  returned,  *  and  so  does 
your  mother-in-law.  I  never  heard  of  anything  so  mon- 
strous in  my  life.' 

'  Had  you  not  better  tell  Dr.  Siddons  so  ?  I  am  only 
repeating  his  directions.' 

'Well,  Walter,'  answered  Lady  Merton,  'of  course,  if 
you  like  to  deprive  your  wife  of  the  consolation  of  having 
her  mother  and  those  of  her  own  faith  about  her  when 
she  is  lying  at  death's  door,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say.' 

Lord  Redman  made  a  step  towards  her,  and  seemed  as 
though  he  were  about  to  reply  angrily.  Whatever  his 
inclination  may  have  been,  however,  he  restrained  it. 

'  I  am  glad,'  he  answered,  '  that  you  have  nothing  more 
to  say  on  this  point.  Lady  JMerton ; '  and  then  he  turned 
to  Lady  Gwendolen. 

'  Siddons  thinks  that  there  is  every  probability  of  her 
doing  well  now,'  he  continued ;  '  but  I  am  sure  you  will 
understand  me,  Lady  Gwendolen,  when  I  say  that  it  is 
still  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  her  perfectly  quiet. 
Your  presence  would  excite  her,  and  any  excitement 
might  be  fatal.' 

Lady  Merton  got  up  from  the  armchair  in  which  she 
had  been  sitting. 

'Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  ring  and  ask  for  my 
carriage  ? '  she  said  to  Lord  Redman.     '  If  we  are  never 

11 


i62  CASTING    OF    NETS 

to  be  allowed  access  to  Hilda,  I  do  not  see  the  use  of 
my  remaining.  Gwen,'  she  continued,  turning  to  her 
daughter,  'you  will  stay  here  again  to-night,  I  con- 
clude, in  case  Hilda  should  not  be  so  well.' 

Walter  accompanied  Lady  Merton  to  her  carriage, 
which  had  been  waiting  at  the  door  for  her,  and  it  was 
with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  he  watched  it  drive  away. 

*  A  little  more,'  he  muttered  to  himself  as  he  turned  to 
re-enter  the  house,  'and  I  should  have  lost  my  temper 
and  told  that  old  cat  some  home-truths ! ' 

The  day  before  Walter  had  been  hastily  summoned 
from  a  debate  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  a  messenger  who 
brought  him  the  tidings  that  Hilda  had  been  suddenly 
taken  ill.  Knowing  that  her  confinement  was  not  ex- 
pected to  take  place  before  another  month  had  elapsed, 
and  full  of  anxious  misgivings,  he  jumped  into  a  hansom 
and  drove  rapidly  home.  Since  her  arrival  in  London, 
Lord  Redman  had  noticed  that  his  wife  looked  even  paler 
and  more  suffering  than  she  had  done  at  Abbotsbury, 
and  he  had  taken  an  opportunity  of  having  a  private 
interview  with  Dr.  Siddons  on  the  subject  of  her  health. 

The  opinion  of  that  great  accoucheur  confirmed  the 
suspicions  which  he  had  formed  at  Abbotsbury  as  to  the 
causes  of  Hilda's  anxious  and  troubled  demeanour. 

'  Lady  Redman  has  something  on  her  mind,'  Dr.  Sid- 
dons told  him,  after  he  had  paid  Hilda  one  or  two  visits. 
'There  is  nothing  organically  wrong,  and  everything  is 
I)ursuing  its  normal  course,  so  far ;  but  some  extraneous 
causes  are  threatening  to  exert  a  prejudicial  effect  upon 
her  state  of  health.  Have  you  any  clue  as  to  what  may 
be  troubling  her  ? '  he  inquired. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  163 

Walter  had  hesitated  to  mention  his  suspicions,  as  to 
the  correctness  of  which  he  felt  lie  had  no  positive  evidence. 

*  I  have  thouglit  it  possible,'  he  replied,  '  that  my  wife 
is  troubling  herself  about  religious  matters.  She  is  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and  I  am  not.  There  are  no  disagree- 
ments between  us  on  this  point,'  he  had  hastened  to  add, 
^  and  we  never  discuss  the  subject.' 

The  doctor  looked  thoughtful. 

^  Ah ! '  he  said,  ^  religion  has  played  me  a  bad  turn 
more  than  once  in  my  profession.  If  you  take  my  advice, 
Lord  Redman,  you  will  keep  her  mind  off  the  subject  as 
much  as  you  can.  The  time  to  think  about  religion  is 
when  w^e  are  well.     It  is  a  very  poor  doctor.' 

When  Walter  reached  St.  James's  Square  he  found  his 
wife  very  ill.  There  was  no  doubt  as  to  wiiat  was  about 
to  happen,  and  a  messenger  had  already  been  despatched 
to  summon  Doctor  Siddons.  Hilda  begged  her  husband 
not  to  leave  her  until  the  latter  should  arrive,  and  he  had 
to  promise  her  again  and  again  that  he  would  not  do  so 
before  she  would  be  pacified.  He  saw  that  she  followed 
his  movements  with  a  look  in  her  eyes  which  was  both 
apprehensive  and  frightened,  as  though  she  dreaded  to 
lose  sight  of  him  for  an  instant. 

Presently  she  said  to  him,  in  a  low,  faint  voice : 

*  Walter!' 

He  bent  over  her  tenderly. 

^  I  want  you  to  promise  me  something.  You  will  think 
it  very  strange,  I  know^,  but  you  will  promise,  will  you 
not?' 

She  gripped  his  hand  feverishly,  and  her  face  was 
flushed  as  she  gazed  at  him  intently. 


i64  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  Of  course,  dear,  of  course  ! '  he  answered  soothingly. 
'  Siddons  will  be  here  directly,  and  the  pain  will  soon  be 
over,'  he  added. 

'  It  is  not  the  pain,'  said  Hilda  hurriedly.  '  It  is  very 
bad,  but  it  is  not  that.  I  want  to  tell  you  before  they 
come.  Do  not  let  them  come,  Walter.  Promise  me  that 
you  will  not  let  them  come/ 

'Who,  dearest?' 

*  They  will  come  and  tell  me  terrible  things,'  she  con- 
tinued excitedly.  '  You  do  not  know,  but  they  have  told 
me  such  dreadful  things,  and  I  am  frightened,  Walter. 
Promise  me,'  she  exclaimed  again,  with  her  eyes  fixed 
upon  his  face. 

Walter  Redman  looked  keenly  at  her.  For  a  moment 
he  believed  that  she  was  wandering  in  her  mind. 

'  No,'  she  said,  as  though  divining  his  thought  —  '  no,  I 
am  not  raving.     Promise  me.' 

*  Nobody  shall  come  near  you  whom  you  do  not  want,' 
he  answered  her  gently.  *  I  am  here  to  take  care  of  you. 
But  tell  me  who  you  mean.  Who  has  been  frightening 
you? ' 

Even  as  he  spoke  the  suspicion  as  to  whom  she  referred 
struck  him,  and  the  thought  made  his  blood  boil  within  him. 
'  Tell  me,'  he  said  again,  almost  imperiously. 

*  My  grandmother  —  and  Father  Galsworthy/  whispered 
Hilda,  casting  a  terrified  glance  at  the  door :  *  my  mother, 
too.  It  is  not  her  fault,  but  they  make  her  tell  me  things 
—  such  terrible  things,  Walter !  I  do  not  want  them  to 
come  to  me,  and  I  know  that  they  will  if  you  do  not  pre- 
vent them.' 

Walter  Redman  ground  his  teeth.       * 


CASTING    OF    NETS  165 

'  They  shall  not  conic  near  you,  Hilda ;  I  swear  it,'  he 
said. 

She  lay  back  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  and  then  smiled  at 
him  —  a  faint,  wan  little  smile. 

'  That  is  enough,'  she  whispered.  *  I  know  that  you 
keep  your  promises.  There  is  one  more  thing,'  she  added. 
'Do  not  let  them  send  anybody  —  no  nurse,  I  mean,  or 
doctor.' 

'  Siddons  will  take  charge  of  you,'  Walter  said  gently. 
'Do  not  be  afraid.  You  are  quite  safe  with  him,  and 
no  one  shall  come  in  here  without  his  permission.* 

At  this  moment  Hilda's  maid  entered  the  room. 

'  Lady  Gwendolen  Cawardeu  is  here,  my  lord,'  she  said 
in  a  low^  voice. 

Hilda  clutched  his  arm. 

'  No,  Walter  —  no ! '  she  exclaimed. 

'Hush!'  he  said.  'Listen,  Hilda.'  And  then,  in  a 
louder  voice,  he  said  to  the  maid :  '  Tell  Lady  Gwendolen 
that  I  am  with  her  ladyship,  and  that  nobody  else  can  see 
her  until  Dr.  Siddons  arrives.' 

As  the  woman  turned  to  leave  the  room,  the  door 
opened  a  second  time,  and  Dr.  Siddons  came  in,  followed 
by  a  nurse. 

Hilda  looked  at  the  latter,  and  then  glanced  at  her 
husband  inquiringly. 

'  One  of  your  nurses? '  asked  Walter  of  the  doctor. 

The  latter  looked  surprised. 

'  Yes,'  he  replied.  '  Fortunately,  I  knew^  w^hcre  to  find 
her,  so  I  brought  her  with  me.  You  had  better  leave  us 
now.  Lord  Redman.     I  will  come  to  you  later  on.' 

Walter   looked   at   his   wife.      Dr.    Siddons'   presence 


i66  CASTING    OF    NETS 

seemed  to  have  had  a  tranquilliziog  effect  upon  her, 
and  he  himself  felt  somewhat  reassured  by  the  latter's 
quiet,  confident  manner.  With  a  silent  pressure  of 
Hilda's  hand  he  left  the  room. 

As  he  descended  the  staircase  he  encountered  Lady 
Gwendolen,  accompanied  by  a  nun. 

'Dr.  Siddons  is  with  her  now,'  he  said  to  his  mother- 
in-law. 

as  it ' 

'Yes,  undoubtedly;  but  I  know  nothing.  Siddons 
has  this  moment  arrived.' 

As  he  spoke,  Walter  looked  at  the  nun  and  then  at 
Lady  Gwendolen. 

'This  is  Sister  Veronica,'  explained  the  latter.  'A 
nurse  will  be  a  necessity.  Sister  Veronica  is  admirable 
in  these  cases,  and  has  the  highest  certificates.  Of  course, 
my  mother  and  I  guessed  what  was  wrong.  When  the 
message  reached  me  I  was  at  her  house,  and  my  mother 
sent  for  Sister  Veronica  instantly.  Had  she  not  better 
go  to  Hilda  at  once  ? ' 

'  Sister  Veronica's  services  will  not  be  required,'  replied 
Lord  Redman  somewhat  curtly.  '  I  am  sorry  that  Lady 
Merton  had  the  trouble  of  sending  for  her.  Siddons,  of 
course,  prefers  his  own  nurses,  and  he  has  brought  one  of 
them  with  him.     She  is  already  assisting  him.' 

Lady  Gwendolen  looked  somewhat  taken  aback. 

'My  mother  will  be  very  disappointed,  Walter,'  she 
said.     '  She  has  great  confidence  in  Sister  Veronica.' 

Her  son-in-law  did  not  reply. 

'  James,'  he  called  to  a  servant  who  was  waiting  in  the 
hall,  '  get  a  cab  for  this  lady.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  167 

Lady  Gwendolen  interposed  nervously. 

'Oh,  Walter!'  she  said,  'had  we  not  better  wait  for 
my  mother?     She  is  coming  here  immediately.' 

Lord  Redman  turned  to  the  Sister. 

'  I  am  sorry,'  he  said  courteously,  '  that  you  should  have 
Lad  the  trouble  of  coming  here,  but,  as  you  see,  Lady 
Merton  has  made  a  mistake.' 

'Perhaps,'  said  Sister  Veronica,  'a  second  nurse  may 
be  necessary.  If  so,  I  should  be  very  pleased  to  place 
myself  at  Dr.  Siddons'  service.' 

'  Thank  vou  ;  but  if  Dr.  Siddons  finds  that  a  second 
nurse  is  required,  he  will  make  his  own  arrangements. 
The  case  is  entirely  in  his  hands.' 

Sister  Veronica  made  no  reply.  At  this  moment  the 
footman  informed  Lord  Redman  that  a  cab  was  at  the 
door,  and  she  followed  him  to  it. 

Walter  and  Lady  Gwendolen  went  into  the  library, 
and  no  sooner  had  the  hansom  left  than  Lady  Merton's 
carriage  drove  up  to  the  house,  and  she  was  shown  into 

the  room. 

^My  dear  Walter,'  she  said,  as  the  door  closed  upon 
her,  ^I  need  hardly  ask  what  is  the  matter.  Poor  dear 
Hilda !  What  can  have  brought  it  on  so  soon  ?  How- 
ever, let  us  trust  that  all  will  be  well.  Let  me  see,  eight 
months,  is  it  not  ?  To  be  sure,  it  would  have  been  better 
had  it  been  seven  ;  but,  as  I  say,  we  will  pray  that  all 
may  go  well  with  her  and  the  child.  Siddons  is  here, 
of  course,  and  the  nurse  I  sent  directly  the  news  reached 
us  ?  Sister  Veronica  is  an  admirable  nurse,  Walter,  and 
a  very  holy  w^oman.  She  will  be  a  great  comfort  to  dear 
Hilda.' 


i68  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'The  person  you  sent  has  gone  away,  Lady  Merton; 
her  services  here  are  not  required.' 

*  Not  required  I '  exclaimed  Lady  Merton.  '  But,  Wal- 
ter, of  course  they  are  required  !  Hilda  must  have  a 
nurse.' 

'  She  has  one.     Siddons  has  provided  for  that.' 

*  And  you  have  sent  Sister  Veronica  away  ?  Gwen, 
what  were  you  thinking  of  to  allow  such  a  thing  ?  What 
do  we  know  of  this  nurse  of  Dr.  Siddons  ?  Hilda  would 
naturally  have  preferred  a  Sister  of  Charity  about  her, 
and  Sister  Veronica  is  a  lady.  She  belongs  to  the  Order 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  besides  being  a  trained  nurse, 
she  is  a  true  saint.' 

Walter  Redman  looked  her  full  in  the  face. 

*  My  wife  has  more  need  of  bodily  assistance  just  now 
than  of  spiritual  advice.  Lady  Merton,'  he  replied  quietly. 

Lady  Merton  cast  down  her  eyes. 

'It  seems  to  me  that  you  forget  Hilda  is  a  Catholic, 
Walter,'  she  said.  'We  do  not  look  upon  these  things 
in  the  same  light  that  you  do.  I  am  deeply  grieved,' 
she  added,  'to  think  that  my  grand-daughter  should  be 
deprived  of  the  services  of  a  person  whose  presence  by 
her  sick-bed  would  have  been  the  greatest  consolation 
to  her.  However,  you  are  dans  voire  droits  and  we  can 
say  nothing.' 

Fearing  lest  he  should  be  led  into  making  remarks 
which  he  might  afterwards  regret,  Walter  left  the  two 
alone  together,  after  telling  them  that  he  would  bring 
Dr.  Siddons  to  them  so  soon  as  the  latter  should  have 
left  Hilda. 

The  air  of  the  library  seemed  to  stifle  him,  and  he  felt 


CASTING    OF    NETS  169 

that  he  coukl  no  longer  endure  Lady  Merton's  presence. 
Restless  and  uneasy,  he  wandered  about  the  house,  strain- 
ing his  ears  to  catch  the  faintest  sound,  yet  dreading  to 
hear  anything.  Hours  seemed  to  have  passed  before  he 
heard  low  voices  in  the  corridor  outside  Hilda's  room,  and 
Dr.  Siddons  came  down  the  staircase. 

His  face  was  grave,  and  Walter's  heart  sank  within 
him  as  he  studied  it. 

^  Lady  Redman  is  in  a  very  critical  state,'  he  said. 
'  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  it  is  a  case  of  premature 
confinement.' 

Lord  Redman  led  him  into  his  own  room,  which  ad- 
joined the  library. 

i  Ig  she '  he  began  ;  then  his  voice  failed  him,  and 

he  stood  looking  at  Dr.  Siddons  in  silence. 

The  latter  knew  what  he  wished  to  ask ;  he  heard  the 
question  so  often. 

'I  hope  not,'  he  replied,  'and  I  think  not.  But  it 
would  be  useless  to  disguise  to  you  that  the  case  is 
critical.  There  are  many  such,  however,  and  I  have  seen 
recoveries  made  from  more  serious  ones  than  this.' 

'The  child?' 

*  Stillborn,'  answered  Dr.  Siddons  —  *  a  male  child.' 

'  It  is  better  so,'  said  Lord  Redman. 

The  doctor  glanced  at  him  with  surprise. 

'  That  is  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble/  he  remarked. 

'  Perhaps  so.  You  are  naturally  better  able  to  judge 
than  I.  Dr.  Siddons,'  added  Walter  suddenly,  'can  you 
account  for  this  premature  confinement?' 

'  I  cannot,'  replied  the  doctor.  '  Can  you  tell  me  of 
anything  which  may  have  caused  it  ?     Lady  Redman  has 


lyo  CASTING    OF    NETS 

not  been  over-exerting  herself,  or  committing  any  impru- 
dences, I  suppose  ? ' 

^She  has  not  been  over-exerting  her  body,  certainly. 
You  discovered  for  yourself  that  she  was  over-exerting 
her  mind.  Could  this  fact  be  in  any  way  responsible  for 
her  present  state  ?  ' 

^  I  should  think  it  could  indeed ! '  exclaimed  Dr. 
Siddons.  '  When  I  visited  Lady  Redman,'  he  continued, 
^  I  found,  as  I  told  you  at  the  time,  that,  so  far  as  I  could 
judge,  things  were  pursuing  their  normal  course,  but  my 
observation  of  her  convinced  me  that  she  was  labouring 
under  some  very  marked  distress  of  mind.  The  fact 
made  me  uneasy  lest  it  should  cause  mischief,  and  I  can- 
not say  that  it  was  altogether  a  surprise  to  me  when 
I  was  summoned  here  to-day  and  found  her  in  this 
condition.' 

'  Dr.  Siddons,'  said  Walter,  '  I  can,  I  know,  rely  upon 
your  discretion  and  silence  if  I  tell  you  of  certain  matters 
the  knowledge  of  which  may  assist  you  in  your  treatment 
of  my  wife's  case.' 

The  doctor  bowed. 

'  Of  course.  Lord  Redman,  I  regard  such  confidences  as 
sacred,'  he  replied. 

'  I  have  just  discovered,'  continued  Walter,  '  that  my 
wife  has  been  far  more  distressed  in  her  mind  than  I  have 
suspected.  I  thought,  as  I  told  you,  that  she  was  troub- 
ling herself  over  the  difference  in  our  religion,  and  I  had 
very  good  reasons  for  believing  that  her  anxieties  were 
largely  due  to  outside  influences  which  were  being  brought 
to  bear  upon  her.  Before  your  arrival  to-day  I  was  with 
her,  and  I  then  discovered  that  she  was  in  a  condition, 


CASTING    OF    NETS  171 

not  of  mental  uneasiness  and  distress  only,  but  of  positive 
terror.' 

Dr.  Siddons  looked  at  liini  curiously. 

'  Ah  ! '  he  said  sharply,  ^  about  what  ? ' 

'  I  think  that  it  will  only  be  necessary  for  mc  to  tell 
you  of  a  promise  which  she  implored  me  to  make  her  in 
order  to  enable  you  to  form  your  own  conclusions  on  that 
point,'  replied  Walter.  '  My  wife,'  he  continued,  '  asked 
me  to  promise  her  that  neither  her  own  relatives  nor  any 
person  sent  by  them,  nor  a  priest  to  whom,  I  believe,  she 
is  in  the  habit  of  confessing,  should  be  allowed  to  come 
near  her  in  her  illness.' 

^  You  promised  this,  of  course  ? ' 

'  Of  course  !  I  tremble  to  think  what  the  effect  of  not 
having  done  so  would  have  had  upon  her.  I  did  more, 
Dr.  Siddons :  I  promised  her  that  you,  no  less  than  my- 
self, would  make  it  impossible  that  anyone  should  approach 
her  except  those  whom  you  authorized  to  do  so.' 

'You  did  quite  rightly.  Lord  Redman.  But  are  you 
not,  perhaps,  attributing  a  little  too  much  importance  to 
Lady  Redman's  words  ?  You  must  remember  that  women 
in  her  state  are  apt  to  take  strange  fancies  into  their 
heads.  Besides  this,  the  pain  and  the  physical  fear  from 
which  she  was  suffering  would  naturally  have  unnerved 
her.' 

'Her  mother.  Lady  Gwendolen  Caw^arden,  and  her 
grandmother.  Lady  Merton,  are  in  the  next  room,'  replied 
Walter  quietly,  pointing  to  the  library.  ^  When  I  left  you, 
and  the  nurse  whom  you  brought  with  you,  with  my  wife, 
I  went  downstairs  to  see  Lady  Gwendolen,  w^ho  had  al- 
ready arrived.     I  met  her  on  the  staircase,  accompanied 


172  CASTING    OF    NETS 

by  a  nun  —  a  Sister  Veronica  —  who,  she  explained,  had 
been  engaged  as  a  nurse  for  my  wife  by  Lady  Merton. 
The  latter  has  assured  me  that  Sister  Veronica  is  not  only 
a  certificated  nurse,  but  also  a  saint.' 

*  And  what  did  you  do,  Lord  Redman  ?  ' 

'  I  told  the  footman  to  call  a  cab.' 

The  gravity  of  Dr.  Siddons'  face  relaxed  for  a  mo- 
ment. 

'I  am  very  glad  you  have  told  me,'  he  said,  after  a 
pause  ;  '  and  you  were  quite  right  in  saying  that  I  should 
be  able  to  form  my  own  conclusions  on  the  subject.  I 
have  formed  them,  and,  so  long  as  Lady  Redman  remains 
under  my  care,  I  shall  be  guided  by  them.' 

'I  trust  to  you  to  use  your  authority  as  her  doctor, 
should  it  be  required,'  said  Walter. 

'  Do  not  doubt  it.  And  now,'  continued  Dr.  Siddons, 
'  I  must  return  to  my  patient.  I  hope  that  I  may  be  able 
to  give  you  a  better  report  towards  evening.  For  the  next 
few  hours  I  shall  not  leave  the  house.' 

'If  you  can  stay  a  few  moments  more  before  you  go  up- 
stairs, I  should  be  glad  if  you  would  come  with  me  into 
the  library,'  said  Lord  Redman.  '  Lady  Gwendolen  will 
be  very  anxious  to  hear  your  report,  as,  naturally,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  tell  her  anything  definite.' 

The  two  went  together  into  the  adjoining  room,  where 
Lady  Gwendolen  and  her  mother  were  sitting  talking  in 
low  tones  to  each  other. 

'  Here  is  Dr.  Siddons,'  Walter  said,  and  they  both  came 
anxiously  forward  to  question  him. 

'  I  cannot  commit  myself  to  an  opinion,'  the  doctor  re- 
plied in  answer  to  their  demands.     '  Lady  Redman  is  in  a 


CASTING    OF    NETS  173 

very  critical  condition  —  a  premature  confinement  of  a 
stillborn  child  —  a  boy.' 

Lady  Merton  wiped  her  eyes  with  her  pocket-handker- 
chief. 

'  It  is  a  judgment ! '  she  said  in  an  undertone  to  her 
daughter. 

'  Can  I  not  see  her,  Dr.  Siddons  ?  It  would  be  such 
a  comfort  to  me  only  to  be  in  the  room,  and  to  feel 
my  daughter  knew  that  I  was  with  her ! '  said  Lady 
Gwendolen. 

'  Impossible  ! '  answered  Dr.  Siddons  gravely.  '  I  am 
sorry  to  be  obliged  to  refuse  you.  Lady  Gwendolen,  but 
nobody  except  myself  and  the  nurse  must  enter  my 
patient's  room.  I  will  not  answer  for  the  consequences 
if  my  directions  are  disregarded.' 

'  I  am  afraid  there  has  been  a  misunderstanding  about 
the  nurse.  Dr.  Siddons,'  said  Lady  Merton.  '  I  had 
engaged  a  Sister  in  whose  skill  I  have  great  confidence, 
but  Lord  Redman  tells  me  that  you  have  no  need  of 
her,  and  he  has  sent  her  away.' 

'Lord  Redman  is  quite  right,'  replied  Dr.  Siddons. 
'  I  make  a  point  of  being  assisted  in  my  cases  by  nurses 
whose  capabilities  are  personally  known  to  me.' 

'  But  perhaps  a  second  may  be  required  ?  I  can  easily 
send  again  for  Sister  Veronica.  Would  it  not  be  wiser  ? ' 
asked  Lady  iSIerton. 

'I  do  not  require  a  second  nurse,  Lady  Merton,  and 
should  it  become  necessary  to  engage  one,  I  must  still 
insist  that  she  shall  be  a  woman  who  is  accustomed  to 
nursing  under  my  orders.  I  do  not  know  Sister  Veronica. 
My  nurses,'  he  added  dryly,  '  have  only  one  calling  in  life. 


174  CASTING    OF    NETS 

If  they  take  to  a  second,  I  cease  to  entrust  my  patients  to 
their  charge.' 

'  But,  Dr.  Siddons,  I  don't  think  you  quite  understand, 
and  neither  does  Lord  Redman,'  returned  Lady  Merton. 
'  My  daughter  and  I  are  positive  that  it  would  be  a  great 
consolation  to  your  patient  to  have  a  person  of  her  own 
faith  about  her.  To  us  Catholics  these  things,  which  no 
doubt  appear  to  you  to  be  unimportant,  are  very  precious.' 

Dr.  Siddons  smiled  a  little  sarcastically. 

'  I  beg  your  pardon.  Lady  Merton.  You  are  quite 
right :  I  did  not  understand  you.  I  thought  that  you 
were  recommending  Sister  —  Veronica,  is  it  ?  —  as  a 
nurse.  I  regret  to  say  that  Lady  Redman  is  not  at 
present  in  a  condition  to  occupy  herself  with  spiritual 
matters.  It  would  be  highly  injurious  to  her  bodily 
health  to  do  so.' 

Lady  Merton  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  turned  away 
from  him  somewhat  abruptly. 

^Are  we,  my  daughter  and  I,  to  understand  that  we 
are  forbidden  to  approach  Lady  Redman  ? '  she  asked 
presently. 

'  Yes,  if  you  please,'  replied  Dr.  Siddons  suavely  ;  '  that 
is  my  request,  as  Lady  Redman's  medical  adviser.' 

'Walter,'  said  Lady  Merton,  'what  is  your  opinion? 
Do  you  wish  your  wife  to  be  debarred  from  the  presence 
of  her  own  relations  —  her  own  mother  —  at  such  a 
moment  ? ' 

'  Certainly,  under  the  circumstances.' 

Lady  Merton  glanced  at  him,  one  of  her  oblique  little 
glances  from  beneath  her  half-closed  eyelids. 

'Under  what  circumstances?'  she  asked.     'Could  any 


CASTING    OF    NETS  175 

circumstances  doniaiul  a  mother's  presence  more  urgently 
than  the  present  ?  ' 

Dr.  Siddons  interposed  a  little  hastily,  lie  had  seen  a 
look  on  Lord  Redman's  face  which  betrayed  the  hitter's 
rising  anger. 

'  I  am  sorry  to  appear  to  be  such  a  tyrant,'  he  said. 
^But  I  am  sure  you  will  remember,  Lady  Merton,  that 
a  grave  responsibility  rests  with  us  doctors  in  such  a 
case  as  Lady  Redman's.  My  professional  experience 
tells  me  that  she  must  be  kept  from  all  risks  of  excite- 
ment or  emotion.  You  and  Lady  Gwendolen  must  exer- 
cise a  little  patience,  if  you  will  pardon  me  for  telling  you 
so.  The  next  few  hours  will,  I  have  every  reason  to  hope, 
bring  with  them  an  improvement ;  but  for  the  present, 
and,  indeed,  for  some  days  to  come,  I  must  insist  that, 
while  I  am  in  charge  of  Lady  Redman's  case,  my  instruc- 
tions shall  be  scrupulously  carried  out.  If  you  will  excuse 
me,'  he  added,  *  I  must  return  at  once  to  my  duties.' 

Walter  Redman  and  he  left  the  library  together. 

'  You  see  how  matters  stand,'  said  the  former,  as  they 
went  up  the  staircase.  ^  I  can  rely  upon  you,  doctor,  to 
help  me  to  protect  my  wife  from  these  good  ladies  ? ' 

'  You  may,  indeed.  Lord  Redman.  It  is  not  the  first 
time  I  have  met  with  this  sort  of  thing  in  my  career,  as  I 
told  you  the  other  day,  I  think,  when  you  came  to  see  me.' 

^  You  can  give  me  some  hope  ?  '  asked  Walter  earnestly, 
as  they  reached  the  landing  near  which  Hilda's  rooms  were 
situated. 

*  Yes,'  replied  Dr.  Siddons,  '  I  can.  Lady  Redman  is 
strong  and  healthy.  Of  course,  unforeseen  circumstances 
may  occur — one  never  can  be  sure  in  these  cases  for  some 


176  CASTING    OF    NETS 

days,  as  you  know.  If  all  goes  well,  however,  during  the 
next  twenty-four  hours,  I  shall  be  able  to  speak  with 
greater  confidence.  But  pray  understand.  Lord  Redman, 
that  I  do  not  at  all  regard  the  case  as  hopeless,  but  only  as 
critical.' 

'  May  I  see  her  ? ' 

'  Not  yet.  Later  on  —  to-morrow  perhaps  —  it  may  do 
her  good  to  see  you  for  a  few  minutes.  Possibly,'  he 
added,  with  a  smile,  'it  will  help  to  pacify  the  ladies 
downstairs  if  they  know  that  I  have  excluded  you  from 
her  room.' 

'  And  you  can  trust  the  nurse  not  to  admit  anyone, 
under  any  pretext  ?  ' 

'Certainly!  You  need  be  under  no  fear  about  that. 
She  will  carry  out  my  instructions  implicitly.' 

Dr.  Siddons  left  Walter  in  the  corridor,  and  disappeared 
noiselessly  into  his  patient's  room.  Lord  Redman  felt  no 
inclination  to  face  Lady  Merton  and  his  mother-in-law 
again  for  the  present.  The  words  which  had  escaped  his 
wife,  the  confession  that  had  so  evidently  been  wrung  from 
her  by  pain  and  nervous  terror,  had  horrified  and  disgusted 
him.  He  knew  Hilda  well  enough  to  feel  sure  that  she 
must  have  suffered  far  more  in  her  mind  than  he  had  any 
idea  of.  Had  it  not  been  so,  he  felt  convinced  that  she 
would  never  have  opened  her  lips  on  the  subject.  He 
could  vaguely  guess  at  those  terrible  things  which  had  been 
told  to  her,  and  which,  during  the  months  of  her  preg- 
nancy, had  worked  upon  her  imagination  and  her  fears 
until  they  had  left  her  a  prey  to  hideous  anxieties  which 
had  brought  about  the  present  catastrophe.  If  she  died, 
he  thought,  with  impotent  rage  in  his  heart,  these  pious 


CASTING    OF    NETS  177 

people  would  have  murdered  lier,  as  they  had  murdered 
her  ehild  —  his  child.  They  would  talk  about  their  God, 
and  their  imaginary  saints,  and  their  holy  religion,  and 
they  would  have  Classes  said  for  her  soul.  Walter  Red- 
man walked  savagely  up  and  down  the  thickly-carpeted 
corridor  outside  the  room  where  his  wife  lay,  consuming 
himself  in  his  own  thoughts,  and  cursing  the  God  whose 
worshippers  and  votaries  were  such  as  these.  It  was  as 
well  that  Lady  Merton  could  not  see  him  just  then  or  be 
inspired  to  know  his  reflections. 

So  the  weary  hours  of  that  day  passed,  amidst  hopes 
and  fears,  a  deep  and  bitter  anger,  and  an  immeasurable 
disgust. 

As  evening  came  on,  Dr.  Siddons  had  left  Hilda^s 
bedside,  and  he  and  liord  Redman  dined  alone  together. 
Lady  Merton  and  Lady  Gwendolen  ate  their  meal  in 
dreary  solitude  in  the  big  dining-room,  waited  upon  by 
domestics  whose  countenances  bore  traces  of  sorrow 
and  anxiety,  for  Hilda  was  greatly  beloved  by  all  her 
husband's  household. 

Hilda  was  still  in  the  same  state,  and  Dr.  Siddons 
determined  to  pass  the  night  in  the  house,  in  case  of 
any  change  for  the  worse  taking  place.  Walter  had 
ordered  a  room  to  be  prepared  for  Lady  Gwendolen 
also.  He  was  sorry  for  the  latter  in  her  anxiety,  and 
he  remembered  how  Hilda  had  made  excuses  for  her 
mother  for  the  part  she  had  taken.  He  reflected  that, 
after  all,  Lady  Gwendolen  had  honestly  opposed  her 
daughter's  marriage,  and  had  yielded  at  the  advice  of 
Lady  Merton.  He  felt,  however,  that  he  could  encounter 
neither   Lady  Merton   nor   his  mother-in-law  again  that 

12 


lyS  CASTING    OF    NETS 

day,  and  the  presence  of  Dr.  Siddons  afforded  an  excuse 
to  the  two  men  to  dine  alone  together  —  an  excuse  which 
the  doctor  seized  upon  no  less  readily  than  did  his  host. 

That  night  Walter  lay  down  upon  a  couch  in  his 
dressing-room,  which  was  close  to  his  wife's  room.  He 
had  fallen  into  a  troubled  sleep  towards  morning,  worn 
out  with  anxiety  and  mental  fatigue.  He  woke  with  a 
start  to  find  Dr.  Siddons  standing  beside  him. 

*  Come  ! '  the  latter  said  to  him  hurriedly.  '  Lady 
Redman  must  see  you  at  once.' 

He  sprang  from  the  sofa,  and  then  he  staggered  a  little. 

'  Is  she  worse  ? '  he  asked. 

'  She  is  terribly  excited,  and  I  fear  it  may  make  her 
worse.  She  had  been  sleeping  quietly  enough,  but  she 
woke  with  a  start,  and  is  asking  repeatedly  for  you. 
She  may  be  more  quiet  when  she  has  seen  you.' 

They  entered  Hilda's  room  together. 

'Here  is  your  husband.  Lady  Redman,'  said  Dr. 
Siddons  gently. 

Walter  went  to  her  side  and  knelt  down  by  the  bed. 

'  I  am  here,  Hilda,'  he  said.     '  What  is  it,  dear  ? ' 

She  looked  at  him  with  wild,  frightened  eyes. 

*  Walter  ! '  she  exclaimed,  '  stay  with  me  !  Why  did 
you  leave  me  ?  I  thought  they  had  taken  you  away  from 
me ' 

*  Who  could  do  that,  dearest  ?  You  have  been  asleep 
and  dreaming.' 

A  slight  shiver  shook  her.  Dr.  Siddons  looked  at  her 
narrowly. 

She  groped  feebly  for  her  husband's  hand,  and  held  it 
in  hers. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  179 

*  Yes,'  she  said  eagerly  ;  '  it  was  a  dream  —  nothing 
but  a  dream;  but  it  frightened  me,  Walter.     They  said 

you   were   lost  —  and   the   ehild What   did   they 

mean  wheu  they  said  I  had  done  it?  That  was  not  a 
dream ;  he  told  me  so  —  Father  Galsworthy.  But  it 
is  n't  true,  Walter  —  tell  me  that  it  is  n't  true  ! ' 

^  Hilda,  it  is  a  lie !  Do  you  understand  ?  It  is  a 
damnable  lie ! ' 

The  words  rang  out  and  resounded  through  the  room. 
The  nurse  shrank  back,  and  Dr.  Siddons  laid  his  linger  on 
his  lips  with  a  warning  gesture. 

Hilda  looked  at  him ;  her  face  flushed,  and  she 
smiled. 

^  I  knew,  Walter  —  I  knew '  she  said. 

The  colour  in  her  face  faded  away,  to  be  replaced  by 
a  deadly  pallor.  She  lay  motionless,  her  eyes,  which  a 
moment  before  had  been  full  of  feverish  brilliancy,  still 
open,  and  fixed  upon  her  husband's  face. 

^  She  is  going  ! '  exclaimed  the  nurse,  in  a  hushed  voice. 

Dr.  Siddons  bent  over  the  bed. 

'  Lady  Redman,'  he  said,  in  a  loud  and  authoritative 
voice,  leaning  over  her  until  his  mouth  nearly  touched 
her  ear  —  ^  Lady  Redman,  you  must  rouse  yourself !  Do 
you  hear  me?  Yoio  must!  Your  husband  wants  you.' 
And  then  he  shook  her. 

A  moment  of  breathless  suspense  followed  his  sudden 
action.  Then  Hilda's  face  quivered  slightly  and  her  lips 
parted  in  a  faint  sigh. 

'  Hilda  ! ' 

A  gleam  of  recognition  stole  into  Hilda's  eyes,  and  very 
slowly  a  suspicion  of  colour  returned  to  her  face. 


i8o  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Dr.  Siddons  made  a  rapid  sign  to  the  nurse,  and  took 
a  glass  from  her  hand. 

*  Swallow ! '  he  said  imperiously,  holding  it  to  Hilda's 
lips. 

Gradually  her  consciousness  returned  to  her.  Walter 
felt  the  failing  hand  within  his  own  tremble,  and  then  he 
became  sensible  of  a  slight  pressure.  Dr.  Siddons  had 
laid  his  fingers  on  her  other  wrist. 

Presently  she  turned  her  head  a  little,  and  then  she 
spoke,  but  so  faintly  that  Walter  had  to  lean  over  her 
till  their  faces  almost  touched,  in  order  to  catch  her 
words. 

'  You  want  me,  Walter  ? ' 

'  Yes,  I  want  you.' 

'  I  heard  someone  tell  me.     I  was  sleepy ' 

She  lay  quiet  for  a  short  time,  and  then  her  eyes  closed. 

Walter  looked  at  Dr.  Siddons  —  a  look  of  agonized 
uncertainty. 

'  Do  not  move  I '  the  latter  said  in  a  low  voice. 

A  few  minutes  passed,  and  then  he  motioned  the  nurse 
away  from  the  bed  and  lifted  his  touch  from  Hilda's 
pulse. 

'  Let  her  feel  your  hand  in  hers  when  she  awakes,'  he 
whispered  to  Lord  Redman. 


CHAPTER  XII 

IN  the  beginning  of  August  Mrs.  Russell  paid  her  pro- 
mised visit  to  Lady  Merton  at  Ware.  The  Russells 
were  in  the  habit  of  taking  an  annual  holiday  from  their 
parochial  duties  at  Abbotsbury  for  six  weeks  or  so  to- 
wards the  end  of  summer,  and  the  Rector  liad  no  difficulty 
in  finding  some  hard-worked  brother  divine  who  was  de- 
lighted to  take  the  Sunday  services  at  Abbotsbury  for 
that  period,  and  exchange  the  responsibilities  of  a  thickly 
populated  town  parish  for  the  lighter  labours  of  a  country 
cure. 

Lady  Merton  had  of  course  felt  herself  obliged  to  in- 
vite Mr.  Russell  as  well  as  his  wife  to  spend  a  few  days 
at  AYare.  The  Rector,  however,  had  excused  himself, 
feeling,  possibly,  that  his  position  as  an  Anglican  clergy- 
man in  a  Roman  Catholic  house  would  be  somewhat 
invidious,  and  that  his  acceptance  of  the  invitation  would 
be  embarrassing  to  its  donor  and  to  himself  It  had  been 
arranged,  therefore,  that  Mary  Russell  was  to  go  by  her- 
self to  Ware  for  a  few  days,  and  that  she  should  join  the 
Rector  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  at  the  conclusion  of  her  visit. 

The  news  of  Lady  Redman's  premature  confinement 
had  been  received  with  genuine  sorrow  and  consterna- 
tion at  Abbotsbury,  and  both  Mr.  and  iNIrs.  Russell  were 
surprised  at  the  feeling  shown  by  all  classes  in  the  neigh- 


i82  CASTING    OF    NETS 

bourhood  when  it  became  known  that  Hilda  was  dancfer- 
ously'  ill.  It  was  a  revelation  to  them  how  completely 
she  had  succeeded,  in  the  space  of  a  few  months,  in 
winning  the  affection  and  esteem  of  all  the  people  at 
Abbotsburj  and  for  many  miles  round  it. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Russell  was  not  altogether  sorry  that  the 
child  had  been  stillborn.  He  could  not  reconcile  him- 
self to  the  idea  of  Abbotsbury  passing  into  Roman  Cath- 
olic hands,  and  he  remembered  that  should  the  present 
owner  of  it  have  no  son,  the  title  and  estates  would  de- 
volve, at  the  latter's  death,  on  the  son  of  his  predecessor 
in  the  living,  Walter  Redman's  first  cousin.  The  Rector 
had  reminded  his  wife  of  this  fact,  and,  while  honestly 
praying  that  Lady  Redman  might  recover,  had  pointed 
out  that  it  would  be,  after  all,  very  much  to  the  advantage 
of  Abbotsbury  if  she  were  to  have  no  children,  or,  at  any 
rate,  no  sons. 

Mr.  Russell  had  thought  his  wife  rather  unresponsive 
on  the  subject ;  indeed,  he  felt  rather  ashamed  of  having 
alluded  to  it  when  poor  Hilda  was  lying  so  ill,  and  sus- 
pected that  Mary  thought  him  unfeeling  for  doing  so. 
It  was  very  natural,  he  reflected,  that  she  should  sym- 
pathize with  Lady  Redman  in  the  latter's  disappoint- 
ment. The  Russells  themselves  had  no  children,  and 
Mr.  Russell  knew  that  the  fact  was  a  great  sorrow  to 
his  wdfe,  and  thought  that  it  doubtless  made  her  more 
ready  to  feel  for  Hilda.  During  the  last  few  months  he 
had  noticed  that  she  hardly  ever  spoke  of  the  misfortune 
of  her  cousin's  wife  being  a  Roman  Catholic,  as  she  had 
formerly  been  so  ready  to  do.  Occasionally  he  had  re- 
minded her  half  laughingly  of  her  idea  that  he  should  be 


CASTING    OF    NETS  183 

the  means  of  converting  Hilda  from  Iltjman  Catholicism 
to  Anglicanism,  but  Mary  Russell  had  answered  him  that 
she  thought  such  tilings  were  best  left  alone.  She  had 
entertained  the  idea,  she  explained,  wiien  they  neither 
of  them  knew  Ilikla,  and  had  tliought  that  she  might  be 
a  person  who  would  attempt  to  make  mischief  at  Ab- 
botsbury.  The  Rector  had  been  by  no  means  ill-pleased 
that  his  wife's  Protestantism  should  have  moderated  it- 
self. Things  were  going  on  very  well  as  they  were,  and 
he  was  fain  to  admit  that  Lady  Redman  was  most  scrup- 
ulous in  never  seeking  to  undermine  the  authority  of  the 
Rectory  and  the  parish  church  in  Abbotsbury,  and  that 
she  appeared  to  regard  her  religion  as  a  purely  personal 
matter.  Mr.  Russell  had  congratulated  himself  more 
than  once  that  the  two  houses  should  continue  to  be  on 
such  friendly  terms  as  to  make  the  fact  of  the  mistress 
of  the  Hall  being  a  Roman  Catholic  a  mere  accident, 
which  he  found  himself  able  almost  entirely  to  forget, 
and  w^ould  probably  have  forgotten  completely  had  it 
not  been  for  the  thought  of  the  future,  when  the  Catholic 
influence  must  infallibly  impress  itself  upon  the  village 
and  neighbourhood. 

Mary  Russell  had  never  spoken  to  her  husband  of  her 
conversations  either  with  Lady  Merton  or  with  Walter 
Redman.  She  had,  it  is  true,  sometimes  talked  to  him 
on  the  subject  of  the  latter's  scepticism,  and  had  told 
him  she  felt  con\inced  that  Hilda  would  be  much  happier 
if  she  could  feel  that  Walter  was  a  conscientious  believer 
in  his  own  Church.  This  was  a  matter,  however,  in 
which  Mr.  Russell,  much  as  he  deplored  it,  knew  himself 
to  be  powerless  to  interfere.     Lord  Redman  had  given 


i84  CASTING    OF    NETS 

him  the  living  of  Abbotsbury,  but  he  had,  at  the  same 
time,  made  Mr.  Russell  clearly  understand  that  he  placed 
him  there  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  Abbots- 
bury  parishioners,  and  that  though  he,  Walter  Redman, 
should  always  support  the  Church,  the  Rector  must  not 
expect  him  to  be  what  he  would  consider  a  Churchman. 
To  do  him  justice,  Mr.  Russell  had  often  suffered  from 
scruples  of  conscience  as  to  whether  he  were  not  sadly 
failing  in  his  pastoral  duties  in  making  no  effort  to  combat 
the  scepticism  of  his  principal  parishioner,  and  he  had  at 
first  attempted  to  speak  to  Lord  Redman  on  the  matter. 
Walter,  however,  was  not  a  very  easy  person  to  approach 
on  such  questions.  The  Rector  had  found  it  impossible 
to  induce  him  to  talk  on  religious  topics,  or  to  betray  any 
interest  in  them. 

Walter's  absolute  indifference  had  baffled  Mr.  Russell. 
Had  he  ever  shown  signs  of  resentment,  or  of  active 
opposition,  the  Rector  would  have  considered  it  to  be 
his  duty  to  argue  with  him  and  to  attempt  to  convince 
him;  but  when  he  found  himself  met,  as  he  invariably 
had  so  found  himself,  by  a  good-humoured  unconcern, 
he  had  been  compelled  to  retire  discomfited,  and  to  tell 
his  wife  that  he  believed  her  cousin  to  be  the  re-incar- 
nation of  some  pagan  of  old  Greece.  It  was  impossible, 
however,  to  pretend  that  Lord  Redman's  paganism  was 
injurious  to  the  moral  welfare  of  Abbotsbury,  and  the 
Rector  was  sufficiently  a  man  of  the  world  to  know  that 
a  constant  attendance  at  church  and  an  edifying  frequen- 
tation  of  the  Sacrament  were  quite  compatible  with  lives 
very  different  from  that  led  by  the  sceptical  patron  of  his 
benefice. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  185 

Mr.  Russell  had  no  idea  of  the  understandine:  which 
existed  between  his  wife  and  Lady  Merton,  nor  that  the 
two  were  in  frequent  correspondence.  The  invitation  to 
Ware  had  been  cordially  given  when  Lady  Merton  had 
left  Abbotsbury  in  January,  and  it  had  been  an  understood 
thing  between  the  Rector  and  Mary  Russell  that  the 
latter  should  accept  it. 

The  events  which  had  occurred  since  then  had  caused 
Lady  Merton  to  be  more  anxious  than  ever  that  Mrs. 
Russell  should  come  and  stay  with  her,  and  when  August 
came,  Mr.  Russell  had  taken  himself  and  his  bicycle  off 
to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  leaving  his  wife  to  pay  her  visit  at 
Ware  alone. 

The  late  Lord  Merton  had  left  Ware  to  his  widow  for 
her  lifetime,  together  with  a  large  jointure  to  enable  her 
to  keep  it  up.  At  the  time  of  her  husband's  death  Lady 
Merton  was  still  a  Protestant,  her  conversion  to  Rome 
not  taking  place  until  three  or  four  years  afterwards. 
The  INIerton  estates  were  large,  and  Ware  was  not  the 
principal  place  belonging  to  the  family.  The  latter  had 
passed  to  Lady  Merton's  only  son,  who,  together  with  his 
sister,  the  Duchess  of  Wearmouth,  and  another  unmarried 
sister  w^ho  preferred  to  live  by  herself,  had  resolutely 
declined  to  be  convinced  by  his  mother's  arguments  and 
those  of  the  priests  who  she  had  hoped  would  convert 
them  to  her  new  faith. 

Under  Lady  Merton's  rule,  Ware  had  become  a  great 
centre  of  Catholicism  in  England.  The  atmosphere  was 
one  of  picturesque  religion,  but  Lady  Merton  was  careful 
to  infuse  into  it  a  little  worldly  oxygen.  It  was  by  no 
means  a  Catholic  house  in  the  sense  in  which  Cawarden 


i86  CASTING    OF    NETS 

and  many  others  similar  to  the  latter  were  Catholic 
houses.  The  taint  of  provincialism  and  restriction  to 
a  narrow  and  not-too-well-cducated  set  was  altogether 
absent  from  Ware.  Its  mistress  was  too  much  a  woman 
of  the  world  to  tolerate  the  elimination  of  worldliness 
from  her  house.  Her  passion  in  life  being  to  bring  souls 
into  the  Church,  Lady  Merton  was  clever  enough  to 
temper  her  Catholicism  to  her  non-Catholic  guests,  and 
to  allow  the  latter  to  find  themselves  in  surroundings 
which  were  doubly  attractive  on  account  of  an  artistic 
blending  of  the  vanities  of  this  world  with  the  most 
pleasing  of  the  supposed  attributes  of  the  next. 

At  her  parties  at  Ware,  Lady  Merton  made  a  point 
of  having  a  certain  number  of  Protestants  among  the 
guests,  and  among  these  there  was  almost  invariably 
a  promising  candidate  for  conversion.  She  prided  her- 
self upon  the  fact  that  the  atmosphere  of  Ware  had  been 
the  means  of  causing  not  a  few  to  leave  their  Protestant- 
ism behind  them  when  they  had  once  breathed  it. 

She  intended  that  Ware  should  represent  a  species  of 
object-lesson  to  those  without  the  Church  who  were 
invited  to  stay  there.  They  were  to  feel  themselves 
under  the  spell  of  a  religion  which  would  show  them 
how  mistaken  they  were  in  thinking  that  Catholics  were 
eccentric  sectarians  who  sought  to  make  life  dull  and 
unlovely,  and  who  were  altogether  unfashionable.  In 
the  foreground  of  the  picture  was  all  that  the  most 
fastidious  worldling  of  either  sex  could  require  in  a 
modern  country-house.  Indoors  was  luxury  studied  in 
all  its  details,  pleasant  and  remarkable  people,  absolute 
liberty  of  conversation  and  ideas ;  out  of  doors  was  good 


CASTING    OF    NETS  187 

shooting,  properly  organized,  for  tlie  men,  and  other 
amusements,  and  both  indoors  and  out  a  eertain  indefin- 
able sense  of  ease  and  freedom  from  all  stiffness  wliieh 
made  Ware  eompare  favourably  with  any  country-house 
in  the  land  as  a  place  in  which  to  pass  a  three  or  four 
days'  visit  pleasantly.  But  it  was  the  background  of  the 
picture  which  formed  its  chief  attraction  to  the  vast 
majority  of  Lady  jNIerton's  guests.  Catholic  and  Protestant 
alike.  The  latter,  indeed,  were  more  struck  by  it  than 
the  former,  as  it  was  intended  that  they  should  be. 

In  this  background,  behind  all  the  comfort,  the  luxury, 
and  the  pleasant  worldliness,  a  sense  of  something  not  of 
this  world  —  peaceful,  serene,  mysterious  —  asserted  it- 
self, as  though  some  unseen  Presence  were  in  the  house. 
In  the  midst  of  the  talking  and  the  laughter,  or  even 
breaking  in  upon  the  rattle  of  roulette  balls,  would  sound 
the  soft,  deep  tones  of  a  church  bell,  and  people  would 
slip  away  quietly  from  the  drawing-rooms  and  disappear 
for  a  while.  Perhaps  some  of  the  Protestant  members  of 
the  party  would  follow  out  of  curiosity,  and  find  them- 
selves in  the  lofty,  dimly-lighted  chapel  which  Lady 
Merton  had  built  at  great  cost,  and  filled  with  rare 
marbles  and  works  of  art  brought  from  Italy  and  Spain. 
The  lamp  burning  before  the  high  altar  shone  like  a  red 
star  in  the  dusk,  and  a  faint,  lingerhig  scent  of  incense 
filled  the  air,  for  Lady  Merton  possessed  the  privilege  of 
having  the  Host  reserved  in  her  chapel  at  Ware.  A 
finely-wrought  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  with 
lighted  tapers  burning  before  it,  stood  out  white  and 
gleaming  in  the  sanctuary.  The  silence  was  only  broken 
by  the  murmur  of  a  priest,  the  domestic  chaplain,  reciting 


i88  CASTING    OF    NETS 

a  portion  of  the  fifteen  mysteries  of  the  Rosary,  and  the 
voices  of  the  kneeling  worshippers  repeating  in  quick 
monotony  the  latter  part  of  the  Paternoster  and  ten  Hail 
Marys,  which  followed  the  recital  of  each  Mystery. 

The  contrast  between  the  brilliantly  lighted  drawing- 
rooms  and  the  worldly  occupations  just  left,  and  the 
quiet,  peaceful  chapel,  was  great  and  almost  startling. 
It  impressed  even  those  to  whom  such  things  said  little. 
The  actuality  of  the  next  world  seemed  to  be  brought 
suddenly  and  sharply  into  the  carelessness  of  everyday 
life;  the  Known  felt  itself  to  be  face  to  face  with  the 
Unknown,  and  everyone,  worshipper  or  mere  spectator, 
found  himself  confronted  with  the  uncomfortable  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  mortality.  A  few  minutes  would 
pass,  and  the  priest  would  disappear  into  the  sacristy, 
the  worshippers  would  silently  leave  the  chapel  and 
return  to  the  drawing-rooms,  and  in  some  way  or  another 
the  object-lesson  would  have  had  its  effect. 

Mrs.  Russell  found  a  very  small  party  assembled  at 
Ware  on  her  arrival.  It  was,  as  Lady  Merton  had 
warned  her,  only  a  family  gathering.  Lady  Gwendolen 
and  her  son  were  staying  there,  and  one  of  Lady  Merton's 
converts,  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  a  middle-aged  widow,  with  a 
devotion  to  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  and  the  Peerage.  A 
young  nephew  of  Lady  Gwendolen's,  who  was  studying 
for  the  priesthood,  and  an  English  monsignore  from 
Rome,  made  up  the  party,  and  Mary  Russell  found  her- 
self the  only  member  of  it  who  was  not  a  Catholic. 

The  cordiality  of  her  welcome  quickly  removed  any 
little  embarrassment  which  Mrs.  Russell  might  have  felt 
at  being,  so  to  speak,  an  intruder.     Lady  Merton  was  an 


CASTING    OF    NETS  189 

admirable  hostess ;  she  knew  liow  to  put  people  at  once 
at  their  ease,  and  before  INIary  Russell  had  been  an  hour 
in  the  house  she  had  been  made  to  feel  that  she  was  a 
welcome  guest. 

Mrs.  St.  Lcger  devoted  herself  to  Mary  Russell  from 
the  first.  She  and  Lady  Merton  were  a  groat  deal  to- 
gether. She  generally  accompanied  the  latter  to  Rome, 
and  assisted  her  in  her  entertaining  in  the  Via  Gregoriana. 
Mrs.  St.  Leger's  reputation  for  piety  was  second  only  to 
that  of  Lady  Merton  herself.  She  had  fashioned  the  raw 
material  of  many  a  convert,  and  shaped  it  preparatory  to 
its  recei\ang  the  finishing  touches  from  Lady  Merton's 
master-hand.  This,  indeed,  was  her  humble  mission  in 
life,  but,  in  the  fulfilment  of  it,  she  moved,  more  especially 
in  Rome,  in  social  spheres  which  as  a  Protestant  she  had 
never  hoped  to  enter.  Somebody  had  once  described 
Mrs.  St.  Leger  as  a  religious  noiweau  riche,  and  her 
spiritual  riches  certainly  obtained  for  her  consideration 
and  respect  in  the  clerical  world  at  Rome,  while  her 
intimacy  with  Lady  Merton  was  accepted  as  a  sufficient 
guarantee  of  her  social  position  by  the  unsuspicious 
Romans,  and  by  the  English  of  the  class  in  which 
Lady  Merton's  conversions  were  chiefly,  though  not 
entirely,  made. 

The  week  of  Mary  Russell's  visit  to  Ware  was  a  very 
hot  one,  and  it  was  pleasanter  to  sit  or  stroll  in  the 
gardens  after  dinner  tlian  to  remain  in  the  house.  Mrs. 
St.  Leger  attached  herself  to  the  new-comer  on  the  first 
night  of  the  latter's  arrival,  and  the  two  walked  about  the 
garden  together  after  dinner,  while  Lady  Merton  and  the 
remainder  of  the  party  sat  outside  the  open  windows  of 


I90  CASTING    OF    NETS 

the  drawing-room.  It  was  perfectly  natural,  under  the 
circumstances,  that  their  conversation  should  touch  upon 
Abbotsbury  and  the  Redmans.  Mary  Russell,  indeed,  was 
anxious  to  obtain  news  of  Hilda.  She  had  not  seen  the 
latter  since  her  serious  illness,  neither  had  Hilda  written 
more  than  a  few  lines,  in  which  she  told  her  that  she  and 
Walter  would  not  be  returning  to  Abbotsbury  until  late  in 
the  autumn,  as  she  was  ordered  by  the  doctors  to  go  to 
the  sea  as  soon  as  she  should  be  well  enough  to  leave 
London. 

^  Poor  dear  Lady  Merton  ! '  said  Mrs.  St.  Leger  with  a 
sigh,  as  she  and  Mary  Russell  walked  up  and  down  in 
front  of  the  house  together.  '  She  is  so  unhappy  about  the 
Redmans!  Lady  Redman  is  quite  her  favourite  grand- 
child, you  know,  Mrs.  Russell.' 

^  But  Hilda  is  making  a  very  good  recovery,'  replied  the 
latter. 

'Ah  yes,  mercifully,  so  far  as  the  body  is  concerned; 
but  it  is  the  state  of  her  soul  which  is  distressing  dear 
Lady  Merton  so  much.  Would  you  believe  it?  Lady 
Redman  has  never  been  allowed  to  see  her  relatives  alone 
since  her  illness.  On  the  rare  occasions  when  her  mother 
and  Lady  Merton  have  been  admitted  to  her  room,  either 
Lord  Redman  or  a  person  whom  the  doctor  insists  on 
placing  in  charge  of  her  has  invariably  been  present.  Even 
her  spiritual  director.  Father  Galsworthy,  has  not  suc- 
ceeded in  having  any  private  conversation  with  her.' 

Mrs.  Russell  looked  exceedingly  astonished. 

*  What  an  extraordinary  thing ! '  she  exclaimed.  '  What 
can  be  the  reason  of  it  ?  I  am  sure  that  Hilda  —  Lady 
Redman  —  would  not  have  wished  to  be  deprived  of  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  191 

society  of  her  relations,  and  the  consolation  of  seeing 
Father  Galswortliy.  T  suppose  Dr.  Siddons  is  responsible 
for  it' 

Mrs.  St.  Lcger  shook  her  head  mysteriously. 

'Of  course,'  she  replied,  'that  is  the  excuse  which  is 
given  by  Lord  Redman.' 

^  I  am  sure  that  my  cousin  would  not  take  such  a  step 
unless  the  doctor  had  recommended  it,'  said  Mary  Russell. 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  sighed  again. 

'It   is   quite   natural  that  you  should  think   so,'   she 

said,  '  but '  and  then  she  paused  hesitatingly.     ^  It 

is  rather  a  delicate  matter  to  discuss  with  you,  Mrs. 
Russell,'  she  continued ;  ^  you  and  Lord  Redman  are 
relatives,  and  you  cannot,  of  course,  look  at  the  question 
from  Lady  Merton's  point  of  view.' 

'  I  do  not  see  why,'  said  ]Mary  Russell. 

*  Oh,  well,  my  dear  Mrs.  Russell,  you  arc  not  one  of  us, 
you  see.  That  makes  all  the  difference.  You  cannot  be 
expected  to  realize  how  great  a  sorrow  it  is  to  dear  Lady 
Merton  and  to  Lady  Gwendolen  to  feel  that  Lady  Redman 
is  surrounded  by  anti-Catholic  influences.  This  makes  it 
very  difficult  to  talk  to  you  on  the  subject.  I  should  not 
like  to  say  anything  which  might  hurt  your  feelings,  for 
you  and  Lord  Redman  are  both  Protestants.  You  belong 
to  the  same  Church,  and  you  would  naturally,  therefore, 
sympathize  with  his  action.' 

'  Not  at  all  ! '  exclaimed  ^lary  Russell  warmly.  '  You 
may  regard  my  cousin  Walter  Redman  and  myself  as 
belonging  to  the  same  Church,  but  I  assure  you,  Mrs. 
St.  Leger,  that  we  hold  very  different  \iews.  My  cousin 
is  practically  a  free-thinker  and  I  am  an  Anglican.     If  I 


192 


CASTING    OF    NETS 


thought  that  he  was  seeking  to  deprive  his  wife  of  the 
comforts  of  her  religion,  I  should  disapprove  of  his  action 
quite  as  much  as  Lady  Merton  could  do.  I  know,  of 
course,  that  to  you  we  are  all  free-thinkers,  and  that  you 
Roman  Catholics  see  no  difference  between  us.' 

Mrs.  St.  Leger   smiled  —  a  quiet,  superior  little  smile. 

'  Yes,'  she  replied,  *  in  a  sense  you  are  right.  To  us 
Catholics  those  who  are  not  within  the  Church  are  all 
free-thinkers.  Your  differences  of  opinion  do  not  alter 
your  position  in  our  eyes.  The  most  advanced  Ritualists 
and  the  most  confirmed  agnostics  are  equally  Protestants 
so  far  as  we  are  concerned.' 

Mary  Russell  did  not  answer  immediately. 

*  But  why  should  you  think  that  my  cousin  has  other 
motives  for  preventing  his  wife  from  seeing  her  relations  in 
private  than  those  which  he  has  given  ?  '  she  asked,  after 
a  pause.  '  I  have  often  noticed,'  she  added,  ^  how  careful 
Walter  is  not  to  interfere  with  her  religion  in  any  way.' 

*  Ah  ! '  replied  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  '  there  are  more  insidious 
ways  of  undermining  a  person's  faith  than  by  open  inter- 
ference. I  am  afraid  dear  Lady  Merton  thinks  that  Lord 
Redman  is  taking  advantage  of  his  wife's  affection  for  him, 
and  is  trying  gradually  to  contaminate  her  with  his  own 
infidel  ideas.  I  hear  that  Lady  Redman  is  very  unhappy, 
poor  thing ;  but  apparently,  since  her  illness,  she  has  not 
got  the  mental  strength  to  shake  herself  free  from  the  con- 
spiracy of  which  she  is  a  victim.  But  I  ought  not  to  talk 
of  these  things  to  you,  Mrs.  Russell ;  I  am  forgetting  all 
the  time  that  you  are  a  Protestant.' 

Mary  Russell  winced  a  little.  Somehow  the  term 
*  Protestant '  jarred  upon  her. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  193 

*  I  shall  bo  very  ghid  if  you  will  talk  to  iiic  about  it,' 
slic  replied.  '  I  had  no  idea  that  things  were  as  you 
dcseribe  them,  and  perhaps  1  could  be  of  some  use.  My 
cousin  and  1  have  had  several  conversations  together 
about  his  wife's  unhappiness  concerning  his  lack  of  faith. 
No  doubt  Lady  jNlerton  will  have  told  you.' 

*  She  told  nie  that  you  were  doing  your  best  to  awaken 
some  religious  belief  in  Lord  Redman's  heart,'  said  Mrs. 
St.  Leger ;  *  but  oh !  dear  Mrs.  Russell,  unless  it  is  the 
true  belief,  what  will  it  avail  him  ? ' 

Mary  Russell  sighed. 

*  It  all  seems  so  plain  and  so  simple  to  you  who  belong 
to  what  you  are  convinced  is  the  only  true  Church,'  she 
said.     *  I  envy  the  people  who  were  born  Roman  Catholics.' 

*  Ah  yes,  indeed ! '  said  Mrs.  St.  Leger.  *  Converts  like 
myself  know  how  many  a  struggle  with  prejudice  and 
error  we  have  to  undergo  before  the  grace  comes  to  us 
to  discern  the  truth.' 

^  You  became  a  Roman  Catholic,  then  ? '  asked  Mary 
Russell. 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  smiled. 

'  Yes,'  she  replied  softly,  with  an  upward  glance.  *  In 
His  great  mercy  God  opened  my  eyes  to  the  truth  and 
led  me  into  His  Church.  I  used  to  call  myself,  as  you 
do,  an  xVnglican.  When  I  look  back  to  those  days,  it 
seems  incredible  to  me  how  I  can  have  been  so  blinded. 
Ah ! '  she  exclaimed,  *  here  is  Lady  Morton  coming  to- 
wards us.  She  will  scold  me  for  monopolizing  your 
society,  Mrs.  Russell.' 

They  paused  in  their  walk  in  order  to  allow  Lady 
Morton  to  join  them. 

13 


194  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  What  are  you  two  in  such  deep  conversatiou  about  ? ' 

she  asked,  smiling. 

*  I  was  giving  Mrs.  Russell  some  news  of  Lady  Red- 
man,' said  Mrs.  St.  Leger.  'She  had  not  heard  of  her 
for  some  little  time.' 

'  So  sad ! '  murmured  Lady  Merton,  '  so  very  sad  — 
poor  dear  Hilda ! '  and  then  she  paused  and  looked  at 
Mrs.  Russell.  'Has  Mrs.  St.  Leger  told  you/  she  con- 
tinued, 'that  neither  my  daughter  nor  myself  has  ever 
been  allowed  to  see  Hilda  alone  ? ' 

'I  cannot  understand  it,'  said  Mary  Russell.  'Surely 
she  is  not  so  ill  now  as  to  make  it  necessary  for  her 
relations  to  be  kept  away  from  her?' 

'She  is  making  a  wonderful  recovery,'  returned  Lady 
Merton.  'The  whole  thing  is  preposterous,'  she  added, 
'  and  Walter  is  behaving  disgracefully  !  We  have  not 
the  slightest  doubt  that  her  illness  was  entirely  brought 
about  by  the  distress  of  mind  which  he  has  made  her 
suffer ;  and  now,  when  she  is  weak  and  unable  to  assert 
herself,  he  has  got  that  abominable  doctor  to  tell  her 
that  she  must  not  even  see  Father  Galsworthy.  Even 
the  old  priest  at  Cawarden,  who  has  known  her  ever 
since  she  was  born,  was  refused  admittance.  Gwendolen 
sent  him  to  St.  James's  Square,  and  your  cousin  told 
him  that  Hilda  was  very  sorry,  but  she  was  unable  to 
receive  him.  Of  course,  all  this  is  put  into  the  poor 
child's  head  by  those  who  are  secretly  working  to  estrange 
her  from  our  holy  religion.' 

'  Dear  Lady  Merton,'  expostulated  Mrs.  St.  Leger  gently, 
'remember  that  our  friend  here  is  a  Protestant.  She 
cannot  be  expected  to  understand  our  grief  and  indigna- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  i 


95 


tiou  at  tlic  fiiilurc  of  Lord  Redman  to  keep  the  promises 
he  made  when  he  married  a  Catholic.' 

Lady  Merton  sighed. 

'  That  is  very  true,  Emily/  she  said.  '  I  beg  your 
pardon,  my  dear  Mrs.  Russell,'  she  added ;  '  I  should 
have  remembered  that  you  are  not  a  Catholic.  You  can- 
not understand  how  jealously  we  are  obliged  to  guard  our 
faith  from  contamination  in  this  Protestant  country.  As 
you  know/  she  continued,  '  I  was  always  opposed  to  this 
marriage  between  your  cousin  and  Hilda.  I  do  not  ap- 
prove of  mixed  marriages.  But  I  and  all  of  us  were  mis- 
led by  Lord  Redman's  apparent  honesty  of  purpose.  I 
must  say  that  I  always  felt  uneasy  about  the  future.  I 
do  not  want  to  offend  you,  dear  ^Irs.  Russell,  but  I  have 
known  so  many  instances  in  which  your  co-religionists 
have  broken  their  promises  after  marriage  with  a  Catholic, 
and  have  tried  to  evade  the  obligations  into  which  they 
had  to  enter  in  order  to  obtain  the  sanction  of  the  Church 
to  their  union.  Emily/  continued  Lady  Merton,  turning  to 
]\Irs.  St.  Leger,  '  go  back  and  amuse  the  others  like  a  good 
creature.     Mrs.  Russell  and  I  will  rejoin  you  presently.' 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  retraced  her  steps  obediently  towards 
the  house.  Lady  Merton  looked  after  her  with  a  benevo- 
lent little  smile. 

'  Such  a  pious  soul ! '  she  said  in  an  undertone  to  her 
companion.  *  Like  yourself,  Mrs.  Russell,  she  used  to 
be  very  much  prejudiced  against  the  Church,  but  now 
she  is  a  fervxnt  Catholic.  She  has  a  great  devotion  to 
St.  Anthony  of  Padua.  It  is  truly  marvellous  how  many 
graces  he  has  obtained  for  her.' 


CHAPTER  XIII 

^  TT  is  a  great  pity  that  the  child  did  not  live,'  said  Mary 
X  Russell  when  Mrs.  St.  Leger  had  left  them.  ^  It 
would  have  been  a  bond  of  union  between  Walter  and 
Hilda.  I  am  sure  Walter  would  have  kept  his  word, 
and  that  he  would  have  made  no  difficulties  about  its 
religious  training.' 

^  I  wish  I  could  think  that  they  would  both  look  upon 
what  has  happened  as  a  sign  of  Almighty  God's  dis- 
pleasure,' replied  Lady  Merton.  '  Hilda,  I  am  convinced, 
must  feel  it  to  be  so.  I  had  hoped  so  much  from  your 
influence  with  her,  dear  Mrs.  Russell !  Your  letters  were 
a  sad  disappointment  both  to  Gwendolen  and  myself.' 

'Hilda  made  it  impossible  to  me  to  speak  about  her 
husband,'  said  Mary  Russell.  'After  all,'  she  continued, 
'you  must  remember  that  I  am  not  a  Catholic,  Lady 
Merton.  Just  before  you  joined  us  Mrs.  St.  Leger  was 
saying  that  you  Catholics  recognise  no  difference  between 
believing  and  unbelieving  Protestants.  To  you  we  are 
all  in  the  same  category.  No  doubt  Hilda  considers  that 
if  her  husband  is  not  a  Catholic,  it  matters  little  whether 
he  is  a  believer  in  his  own  Church  or  not.  I  can  only 
account  for  the  way  in  which  she  met  my  attempts  to 
induce  her  to  try  and  make  him  believe  in  something  by 
assuming  that  she  feels  this.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  197 

Lady  Mertoii  paused  for  a  nioiiicnt  before  replying. 

*  Emily  St.  Leger  is  a  very  devoted  Catholic/  she 
observed.  *  I  often  tell  her  that  she  is  a  little  too  uncom- 
promising in  her  judgment  upon  people  who  are  outside 
the  Church.  She  cannot  distinguish  between  those  who 
are  wilfully  blind  to  the  truth  and  those  who,  conscien- 
tiously searching  for  it,  only  lack  the  grace  to  discern  it. 
I  do  not  suppose  for  a  moment  that  Hilda  would  not  listen 
to  you  because  you  are  a  Protestant.  I  wish  I  could  think 
so  —  it  would  be  more  excusable.' 

Mary  Russell  looked  a  little  offended. 

*  Yes,  my  dear,'  continued  Lady  Mcrton,  *  it  would  be 
more  excusable  from  our  point  of  view.  It  would  be  a 
proof  that  Hilda  refused  to  be  satisfied  with  anything  less 
than  her  husband's  conversion  to  the  Church,  and  that  she 
would  countenance  no  attempt  to  make  him  believe  in  any 
form  of  religion  but  the  true  one.' 

*But  you  told  me  at  Abbotsbury  that  she  would  be 
content  to  feel  that  Walter  had  any  religious  faith,'  said 
Mrs.  Russell. 

^  Quite  true,  my  dear,'  replied  Lady  Merton.  *  I  did  say 
so,  and  at  that  time  both  her  mother  and  I  thought  it. 
Of  course  we  should  prefer  to  see  Walter  Redman  a 
Catholic ;  it  would  be  absurd  to  pretend  that  we  should 
not.  As  this  seemed  to  be  impossible,  so  far  as  our  human 
foresight  could  judge,  it  would  have  been  at  least  some 
consolation  to  think  that  he  was  a  conscientious  Protestant, 
and  this  is  what  we  felt  sure  that  Hilda  most  earnestly 
desired.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  we  sought  your  help 
—  as  a  Protestant.' 

*  It  was  not  of  much  use,'  said  Mary  RusselL 


198  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  No,  and  this  is  what  distresses  us  all  so  much/  replied 
Lady  Merton.  'Now  that  we  are  alone  together,'  she 
continued,  '  I  can  explain  to  you  what  I  mean.  Unfortu- 
nately, we  have  too  much  reason  to  suspect  that  Hilda  is 
allowing  herself  to  become  indifferent  to  her  husband's 
spiritual  welfare.  At  one  time,  as  I  told  you  at  Abbots- 
bury  in  the  winter,  her  letters  were  full  of  misgivings  and 
anxiety  about  him.  She  used  to  declare  that  she  should 
be  happy  if  only  she  could  feel  that  he  was  a  true  mem- 
ber of  your  creed.  By  degrees,  however,  other  influences 
have  gained  the  mastery  over  her,  and  she  is  sacrificing 
everything  to  these.' 

'  What  influences  ? '  asked  Mary  Russell. 
Lady  Merton  cast  down  her  eyes. 

*  Oh,  my  dear,'  she  said,  *  I  hardly  like  to  tell  you.  I 
fear  —  well,  I  fear  that  Hilda  is  becoming  a  slave  to  her 
carnal  love  for  her  husband.  They  are  perfectly  happy 
together  —  in  this  sense  of  the  word  "  happiness  "  —  and 
she  has  ceased  to  wish  for  anything  higher.  It  is  a  state 
of  moral  apathy  from  which  nothing  can  rouse  her.  It 
is  so  clear  to  me  tliat  this  terrible  confinement  has  been 
sent  by  God  in  His  mercy  in  order  to  make  her  reflect  and 
repent.  And  now,  at  the  very  time  when  she  might  listen 
to  advice,  your  cousin  has  practically  isolated  her  from  all 
her  own  belongings.  Can  you  wonder  that  we  are  dis- 
tressed, Mrs.  Russell  ? '  she  concluded,  sighing. 

'  But  this  state  of  things  cannot  last,  dear  Lady  Merton,' 
replied  Mary  Russell.  '  Hilda  wrote  to  me  some  time  ago 
to  say  that  she  was  getting  much  stronger,  and  that  she 
hoped,  after  a  few  weeks  by  the  sea,  to  be  quite  herself 
again.     It  would  be  impossible  for  Walter  to  continue  to 


CASTING    OF    NETS  199 

separate  her  from  Lady  Gwendolen  and  you  when  once  she 
is  well.  When  they  return  to  Abbotsbury  I  shall  certainly 
do  my  best  to  speak  both  to  her  and  to  Walter.  He  and 
I  have  had  more  than  one  conversation  together,  as  I  told 
you.' 

*  Yes,'  answered  Lady  Mcrton.  ^  I  remember  that  you 
wrote  to  me  about  it.  You  will  not  think  me  indis- 
creet, I  hope,  if  I  ask  you  whether  anything  which  he 
said  gave  you  the  impression  that  he  distrusted  Hilda's 
family  ?  ' 

Mary  Russell  hesitated. 

^  Distrust  —  no,'  she  replied.     '  But ' 

*  I  hope  you  will  be  open  with  me,  dear  Mrs.  Russell,' 
said  Lady  Merton  gently.  '  You  need  not  be  afraid  of 
quoting  your  cousin's  words.  I  am  sure  that  you  are  as 
anxious  as  we  are  that  all  should  go  well  with  him  and 
Hilda,  and  I  think  that,  should  Walter  have  taken  any 
unjust  ideas  into  his  head,  you  are  probably  the  person 
who  will  best  be  able  to  remove  them.' 

'  Well,'  answered  Mary  Russell,  ^  I  am  afraid  Walter 
thinks  that  in  some  way  his  wife  is  being  worried  and 
made  unhappy  over  her  religion.  I  think  he  suspects 
the  Dominican  Father  at  Abbotsbridge,  to  whom  Hilda 
used,  I  believe,  to  go  to  confession,  of  unnecessarily  dis- 
turbing her  mind.' 

Lady  Merton  laughed  softly. 

'  It  is  so  funny,'  she  said,  '  the  absurd  ideas  which 
Protestants  get  hold  of  about  us  !  We  do  not  go  to 
confession  in  order  to  have  our  peace  of  mind  disturbed, 
but  in  order  to  regain  it  when  we  have  lost  it.  But  your 
cousin  need  not  hold  us  responsible  for  what  Hilda  may 


200  CASTING    OF    NETS 

have  been  told  at  Abbotsbridge,'  she  added,  with  a  quick 
glance  at  Mrs.  Russell.  'It  is  quite  possible  that  this 
Dominican  may  have  spoken  to  her  seriously  if  he  believed 
that  she  was  not  acting  up  to  her  duty.  Some  priests  are 
over-zealous  occasionally,  and  Dominicans  are  apt  to  be 
severe.' 

'  It  was  very  evident  that  something  was  troubling 
Hilda,'  replied  Mary  Russell.  '  She  used  to  go  over  to 
Abbotsbridge  very  frequently,  and  Walter  thought  that 
she  always  looked  more  worried  after  her  visits  there.' 

'And,  of  course,  concluded  that  her  religion  was  to 
blame  for  it,'  said  Lady  Merton.  'It  was  perfectly 
natural  that  she  should  be  troubled,  dear  Mrs.  Russell. 
Her  conscience  was  perpetually  reproaching  her  for  allow- 
ing considerations  of  her  worldly  happiness  to  interfere 
with  what  she  knew  to  be  her  responsibilities  towards 
her  husband's  spiritual  welfare.  Her  letters  to  us  showed 
very  plainly  the  state  of  her  mind.  Lord  Redman,  of 
course,  has  never  been  able  to  realize  that,  to  a  Catholic, 
duty  towards  the  Church  supersedes  all  other  calls.  He 
has  been  disappointed  and  mortified  to  find  that  Hilda's 
religion  has  so  much  hold  over  her,  and  now,  under  the 
plea  of  her  health,  he  is  striving  to  prevent  its  influence 
from  reaching  her.' 

At  this  moment  the  bell  of  the  chapel  interrupted 
their  conversation,  and  Lady  Merton  turned  towards  the 
house. 

'  We  always  have  prayers  at  ten  o'clock,'  she  explained, 
as  she  led  the  way  into  the  drawing-room,  where  the 
others  had  preceded  them. 

After  a  minute  or  two  everybody  moved  towards  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  201 

chapel.  Mary  Russell  bung  back  and  opened  one  of 
tbe  books  lying  upon  a  little  table.  Iler  hostess  had 
not  invited  her  to  accompany  them,  and  she  hardly 
knew  whether  it  would  not  be  resented  were  she  to  do 
so  unasked. 

'Will  you  not  join  us,  Mrs.  Russell  ?  '  said  a  soft  voice 
at  her  elbow ;  and,  turning  round,  Mary  Russell  saw  Mrs. 
St.  Leger  standing  by  her  side, 

*  I  do  not  know/  she  began  hesitatingly.  '  Will  not 
Lady  ]Merton  be  surprised  at  seeing  me  ? ' 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  smiled. 

*  Dear  Lady  Merton  ! '  she  said.  '  She  is  much  too 
absorbed  in  her  devotions  to  notice  who  comes  and  who 
stays  away  I  I  am  sure  she  would  wish  you  to  join  us, 
if  you  feel  inclined  to  do  so.' 

Mary  Russell  followed  her  to  the  chapel  and  knelt  on 
one  of  the  cushioned  chairs  while  Lady  Merton's  chaplain 
recited  a  portion  of  the  Rosary.  The  quiet  devotion  of 
the  scene  impressed  her,  and  she  found  herself  wondering 
how  it  was  that  Roman  Catholics  were  able  to  make  their 
religion  so  completely  a  part  of  their  everyday  life.  It  all 
appeared  to  be  so  natural  and  so  unstrained ;  and  she  could 
not  help  thinking  of  the  Rector's  attempts  to  induce  his 
parishioners  at  Abbotsbury  to  come  to  church  on  other 
occasions  than  those  of  the  orthodox  Sunday  serWces,  and 
the  difficulties  and  heart-burnings  which  resulted  from 
them. 

In  a  few  minutes  all  was  over,  and  they  returned  to  the 
drawing-room  together.  Lady  INIerton  was  the  first  to 
rise  from  her  knees,  and  her  eyes  rested  for  a  moment  on 
Mary  Russell  as  she  passed  her.     She  made  no  comment, 


202  CASTING    OF    NETS 

however,  to  Mrs.  Russell  afterwards  on  the  fact  of  the 
latter  having  been  present;  and  Mary  thought  that,  as 
Mrs.  St.  Leger  had  said  would  be  the  case,  she  had  not 
noticed  she  was  there. 

'  The  chapel  is  very  pretty,  is  it  not  ? '  Mrs.  St.  Leger 
said  to  her  as  they  sat  down  on  a  sofa  in  the  drawing- 
room. 

'  Yes ;  it  must  be  a  great  pleasure  to  have  so  beautiful 
a  chapel  in  the  house.' 

^  And  the  inestimable  privilege  of  being  allowed  to  re- 
serve the  Blessed  Sacrament  there,'  added  Mrs.  St.  Leger. 
'  The  concession  was  specially  granted  to  dear  Lady  Merton 
from  Rome.  I  wonder  if  you  feel  the  mysterious  influence 
of  that  Holy  Presence  ?  I  suppose  not,'  she  added  pen- 
sively. '  I  suppose  that  you  are  too  much  separated  from 
us  to  be  able  to  feel  it  as  we  do.' 

*  How  long  have  you  been  a  Roman  Catholic,  Mrs. 
St.  Leger  ? '  asked  Mary  Russell. 

'I  became  a  Catholic  five  years  ago,'  replied  Mrs.  St. 
Leger ;  ^  but  it  seems  to  me  as  though  I  had  never  been 
anything  else.  The  old  days  seem  as  if  they  formed  part 
of  the  life  of  another  person.  I  cannot  realize  that  I  was 
once  a  Protestant.' 

'  It  must  require  great  courage  to  take  such  a  step,'  said 
Mrs.  Russell  thoughtfully. 

*  I  do  not  think  so.  When  once  conviction  comes,  the 
claims  of  the  Church  become  so  clear,  her  summons  so 
imperative,  that  it  would  require  far  greater  courage  to 
refuse  to  listen  to  her  voice.' 

'  Since  I  have  learned  more  about  your  religion  and  read 
some  of  your  books  on  the  subject,  I  often  envy  you  all. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  203 

It  must  be  so  comfortable  to  feel  that  you  belong  to  an 
infallible  Church  —  that  you  have  no  individual  responsi- 
bility beyond  obedience  to  the  precepts  of  that  Church. 
How  different  it  is  with  us  in  the  Anglican  communion ! 
We  have  no  infallible  counsellor  to  wliom  we  can  turn  for 
advice  in  our  spiritual  doubts  and  difficulties.' 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  smiled. 

'But,  my  dear  Mrs.  Russell,'  she  replied,  'you  Prot- 
estants are  by  way  of  not  requiring  any  such  infallible 
guide  and  counsellor.  You  have  God,  you  say,  to  whom 
you  can  turn,  and  you  ignore  the  fact  that  He  constituted 
a  Church  which  was  to  speak  in  Ilis  name,  and  by  His 
authority.' 

'  We  claim  to  be  a  branch  of  that  Church.' 

'No  doubt.  But  can  you  prove  your  claim?  You 
know  that  we  Catholics  do  not  admit  it.  The  Holy 
Father  has  pronounced  against  the  validity  of  your  Orders, 
thereby  demolishing  the  last  support  upon  which  that 
claim  could  logically  rest.' 

'What  would  my  position  be,  as  the  wife  of  an  An- 
glican priest,  if  I  accepted  that  decision  ? '  asked  Mary 
Russell. 

Lady  Merton  approached  them  at  this  moment,  and 
overheard  her  question. 

'  What  decision  ? '  she  asked,  smiling.  '  I  hope,'  she 
added,  '  that  Emily  has  not  been  talking  theology  to  you, 
Mrs.  Russell  ? ' 

'The  decision  of  the  Vatican  regarding  our  Anglican 
Orders,'  replied  Mary  Russell.  'I  was  asking  Mrs.  St. 
Leger  what  my  position  would  be  if  I  believed  that  the 
Pope  was  right.' 


204  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'Your  position,'  said  Lady  Merton  slowly,  'would  be 
exactly  the  same  as  it  was  before.' 

'  But  my  husband ' 

'  My  dear,  you  married  your  husband  because  he  was  a 
man,  not  because  he  was  a  priest.  The  Pope's  decision 
cannot  unsex  him.' 

Mrs.  Russell  laughed  in  spite  of  herself. 

'  I  have  never  looked  at  the  matter  in  that  light,'  she 
answered. 

'  I  do  not  know  what  you  and  Emily  were  discussing,' 
returned  Lady  Merton,  sitting  down  by  them.  'I  am 
only  supposing  the  case  that  you  accepted  the  decision 
as  to  the  invalidity  of  the  Anglican  Orders,  and,  there- 
fore, could  no  longer  believe  Mr.  Russell  to  be  a  true 
priest.' 

'  It  would  be  a  terrible  position.' 

'I  do  not  see  why.  It  is  a  position  in  which  many 
have  found  themselves  of  recent  years.' 

'A  wife  must  believe  in  her  husband,'  said  Mary 
Russell. 

'Certainly!'  replied  Lady  Merton.  'It  is  very  much 
better  when  she  is  able  to  do  so ;  but  she  is  not  bound 
to  believe  in  his  errors.  Besides,'  she  added,  'when  a 
person  has  once  accepted  the  teaching  of  the  Church  on 
any  point  of  doctrine  or  faith,  no  mere  worldly  considera- 
tion can  be  taken  into  account.  Our  Lord  says  distinctly 
that  all  earthly  ties,  even  those  between  parents  and 
children,  must  be  severed  if  they  interfere  with  the  de- 
sire to  follow  Him.  Well,  my  dear,  we  Catholics  know 
that  there  is  only  one  way  by  which  He  can  surely  be 
followed,  and  that  is   by  the  path  which   His  Church 


CASTING    OF    NETS  205 

points  out  to  us.  If  wc  deliberately  refuse  to  take  that 
way,  we  lose  ourselves  and  grope  blindly  after  the  truth, 
ever  straying  more  widely  from  it.' 

Mrs.  St.  Lcger  sighed. 

'Dear  Lady  Merton!'  she  exclaimed,  'it  is  so  true! 
Your  words  bring  back  to  me  the  time  when  I,  too,  was 
losing  my  way.  Who  knows  whether,  but  for  you,  t 
should  not  have  lost  it  irretrievably?' 

*  I  was  an  instrument,  Emily,'  murmured  Lady  Merton 
<  only  an  instrument.  No  one  knows  better  than  my- 
self the  difficulties  and  uncertainties  through  which  Prot- 
estants have  to  pass  before  the  final  moment  of  conviction 
comes.  But  when  it  does  come,  the  whole  glorious  fact 
seems  to  reveal  itself  in  a  flash.  The  darkest  places  in 
the  doubting  mind  are  illumined,  and  our  doubts  them- 
selves shrivel  up  and  disappear  under  the  searching  radi- 
ance of  the  Divine  truth.' 

Mary  Russell  sat  and  listened  in  silence.  Nothing  in 
Catholicism  impressed  her  so  much  as  the  strong,  un- 
doubting  faith  which  its  members  displayed  in  their 
Church,  and  the  calm,  tranquil  conviction  with  which 
they  regarded  that  Church  as  the  sole  exponent  upon 
earth  of  the  Divine  will  and  authority.  She  felt  that 
if  she  were  once  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  the  claim  of 
Rome  to  be  the  one  and  only  legitimate  repository  of  that 
authority,  she  would  be  able  to  accept  all  the  doctrines 
of  the  Roman  Church  which  had  formerly  appeared  to 
her  to  be  so  anti-spiritual  and  superstitious. 

The  antagonism  which  she  had  entertained  against 
the  Church  of  Rome  had  given  Mrs.  Russell  a  keen 
interest   in    Roman   Catholicism,   and    this   interest    had 


2o6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

been  enhanced  by  the  accident  of  having  been  brought 
into  almost  daily  intercourse  with  a  member  of  that 
communion.  The  books  which,  at  Mary's  special  re- 
quest, Hilda  Redman  had  lent  her,  had  aroused  in  her 
an  eager  desire  to  learn  more  of  a  religious  system  which 
she  had  once  so  thoroughly  despised.  Beyond  the  limited 
occupations  which  her  husband's  parish  afforded,  life  at 
Abbotsbury  was  a  little  aimless.  The  cares  and  duties 
of  the  mother  of  a  family  had  been  denied  to  Mary  Russell, 
and  she  disliked  dogs.  The  sudden  introduction  of  a 
Roman  Catholic  element  into  her  surroundings  had  un-- 
doubtedly  supplied  her  with  a  fresh  interest  in  life,  and, 
little  by  little,  this  interest  had  become  very  engi'ossing. 
Perhaps  not  the  least  fascinating  part  of  it  was  the  feeling 
that  the  subject  to  a  clergyman's  wife  was,  or  should  be, 
forbidden;  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  Mary  Russell 
was  more  than  dimly  conscious  that  she  was  influenced 
to  a  certain  extent  by  that  attraction  which  forbidden 
fruit  has  for  each  of  us. 

She  had  long  ceased  to  discuss  Roman  Catholicism 
with  the  Rector,  and  the  latter  had  no  idea  that  his 
wife  had  been  diligently  reading  every  book  dealing 
with  the  subject  from  the  Catholic  point  of  view  which 
she  had  been  able  to  obtain.  The  two  or  three  volumes 
which  Hilda  had  lent  her  had  merely  been,  as  it  were, 
the  gate  through  which  she  had  entered  into  the  field 
of  Catholic  controversial  literature.  She  had  sent  for 
many  of  the  works  referred  to  in  them,  and  in  their  pages 
had  found  confutation  of  all  her  most  cherished  prejudices, 
and  more  than  a  hundred  and  one  plain  reasons  for  joining 
the  Church  of  Rome.     The  Rector  of  Abbotsbury  never 


CASTING    OF    NETS  207 

knew  how  much  unorthodox  literature  lay  hidden  among 
the  books  in  his  wile's  sitting-room.  At  first,  in  the  days 
when  she  still  talked  about  Romanists,  Mr.  Russell  used 
to  wonder  how  she  knew  so  nmch  about  their  tenets,  and 
would  conclude  that  her  obviously  extended  knowledge 
was  the  result  of  her  friendship  with  Lady  Redman.  By 
degrees,  however,  as  Mary  Russell  pursued  her  studies, 
she  experienced  an  ever-increasing  difficulty  and  reluctance 
in  discussing  religious  topics  with  her  husband.  She 
secreted  her  books  more  carefully  than  before,  and  this 
reticence  and  secrecy  became  something  in  the  nature  of 
an  excitement  —  a  feature  in  her  otherwise  prosaic  life  at 
Abbotsbury  which  gradually  brought  a  new  note  and 
colour  into  it. 

*  Ah  ! '  she  exclaimed,  as  Lady  Merton  finished  speak- 
ing, '  it  is  all  so  easy  for  you  who  have  the  con\iction 
that  your  Church  is  the  only  true  one.  If  I  were  con- 
vinced-  '   she   added,   and   then   she   stopped    short. 

*  But  I  do  not  want  to  be  convinced,'  she  said,  after  a 
pause.  '  It  is  all  very  well  for  people  who  can  join  your 
Church  without  distressing  others  who  depend  upon  them.' 

Lady  Merton  and  IMrs.  St.  Leger  looked  at  her  curiously 
and  then  at  one  another. 

*  My  dear,'  said  the  former  gently,  '  we  have  no  right  to 
place  other  people's  prejudices  before  the  salvation  of  our 
own  souls.  If  you  are  ever  genuinely  convinced  of  the 
truth,  you  will  realize  that  no  such  considerations  can  be 
allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  obedience  to  the  voice  of 
the  Church.  You  are  thinking  of  your  husband,  of  course, 
and  it  is  very  natural  that  you  should  do  so.  Now,  I  am 
putting  a  merely  hyi)othetical   case.     Supposing  you  be- 


2o8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

came  convinced  that  you  and  he  were  members  of  a  false 
Church ;  would  you  allow  consideration  for  his  feelings  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  your  attempting  to  save  yourself  and 
him  from  such  a  perilous  position  ?  Would  it  not  be  your 
clear  duty  to  set  him  the  example  of  casting  off  your  false 
religion  in  the  hope  that  he  might  follow  you  ? ' 

'  You  do  not  know  James/  replied  Mary  Russell.  '  He 
is  devoted  to  his  profession  and  to  his  Church.  I  have 
never  dared  to  tell  him  how  much  my  views  concerning 
the  Roman  Church  have  been  modified  of  late.  He  thinks 
me  a  staunch  Protestant,  even  more  convinced  than  he  of 
the  errors  of  Roman  Catholicism.  He  would  never  get 
over  it  were  I  to  become  a  Catholic' 

Lady  Merton  smiled  indulgently. 

'  Oh  yes,  my  dear,  he  would,'  she  replied.  '  We  are  all 
given  to  magnifying  the  obstacles  in  our  path.  It  would 
be  a  shock  to  him  at  first,  of  course ;  but  when  once  your 
conversion  (I  am  only  supposing  such  a  thing,  remember) 
was  an  accomplished  fact,  he  would  become  reconciled  to 
it.  It  is  always  wiser  not  to  talk  about  these  things  till 
they  are  done.  Discussion  before  the  final  step  is  taken 
is  only  unsettling  to  the  convert  and  painful  to  his  or  her 
Protestant  belongings.  However,  we  will  talk  about  this 
some  other  time.  It  is  getting  late,  and  I  dare  say  you 
are  tired  after  your  hot  journey  to-day.  There  is  only  one 
thing  I  should  like  to  say,  dear  Mrs.  Russell,  and  that  is, 
pray  go  to  the  chapel  whenever  you  like.  It  is  never 
closed,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  find  help  and  comfort  there, 
if  you  are  in  need  of  either.  Nobody  will  notice  or  disturb 
you.' 

Mrs.    St.    Leger   murmured   a  gentle  and  sympathetic 


CASTING    OF    NETS  209 

*  Good-night'  as  the  ladies  went  upstairs.  Mrs.  Russell 
had  to  pass  the  door  of  the  chapel  on  her  way  to  her 
room.  It  was  partly  open,  and  she  paused  and  looked 
into  it.  The  light  of  two  or  three  candles  burning  in 
front  of  the  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  and  the  red 
lamp  glowing  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  scarcely  illu- 
mined the  gloom  of  the  building.  Mary  could  dimly  dis- 
cern shadowy  forms  kneeling  in  silent  prayer  before  the 
altar.  The  peace  and  the  stillness  of  it  seemed  to  force 
themselves  on  her  attention  and  to  hold  her  imagination. 
There  was  peace  and  stillness  in  the  old  church  at  Abbots- 
bury  also,  but  here  surely  dwelt  the  shadow  of  some  mys- 
terious Presence  —  the  invisible  Dispenser  of  a  sweet  and 
holy  calm. 

The  sound  of  a  door  opening  softly  above  caused  her  to 
look  upward,  and  Lady  Merton  and  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  with 
veils  thrown  over  their  heads,  came  into  a  small  gallery  in 
the  sanctuary  and  kneeled  silently.  For  a  moment  Mary 
Russell  felt  impelled  to  enter  the  chapel,  and  then,  with 
a  quick  sigh,  she  turned  and  went  thoughtfully  to  her  own 
room. 


14 


CHAPTER  XIV 

IT  was  late  in  October  before  Lord  and  Lady  Redman 
returned  to  Abbotsbury.  Hilda  had  quite  recovered 
her  health,  and  appeared  at  the  same  time  to  have  regained 
her  natural  good  spirits.  After  six  weeks  spent  in  the 
bracing  air  of  the  Yorkshire  coast  she  and  Walter  had 
gone  to  the  north  of  Scotland,  where  the  latter  had  rented 
a  shooting-lodge  and  some  salmon-fishing.  The  house 
was  very  small,  and,  indeed,  they  had  chosen  it  for  this 
very  reason.  There  had  been  sufficient  sport  to  occupy 
Walter  and  one  or  two  of  his  friends,  and  the  dearth  of 
spare  bedrooms  in  the  lodge  prevented  any  possibility  of 
Hilda  being  obliged  to  receive  members  of  her  own  family 
who  might  otherwise  have  proposed  a  visit. 

The  complete  change  of  scene,  and  the  out-of-door  life 
which  she  had  been  able  to  lead  in  the  Highlands  during 
the  earlier  part  of  the  autunm,  had  done  much  towards 
insuring  Hilda's  complete  recovery ;  but  another  agent  had 
been  at  work,  which  was  at  least  as  powerful  as  either  of 
the  others,  for  it  had  reacted  upon  her  mind,  and  hence 
upon  her  nerves,  which  had  suffered  keenly  during  the 
weeks  which  had  immediately  preceded  her  confinement. 

Hilda  felt  that  the  barrier  which  had  existed  between 
her  husband  and  herself  had  collapsed  and  vanished. 
The  confession  which  fear  and  pain  combined  had  wrung 


CASTING    OF    NETS  211 

from  her  as  to  the  pressure  wliicli  liad  been  brought  to 
bear  upon  her  b)'  her  rehitives  and  by  her  spiritual  direetors 
had  resulted  in  breaking  the  ice  of  that  reserve  which  both 
she  and  Walter  had  deemed  it  their  duty  to  each  other  to 
maintain  on  all  matters  connected  with  their  respective 
religious  beliefs.  As  if  by  mutual  consent,  they  had  tacitly 
released  one  another  from  the  promise  made  at  their  en- 
gagement. The  effect  on  Hilda  had  been  very  marked. 
The  knowledge  that  there  was  no  longer  a  subject  which 
could  not  be  mentioned  between  her  and  Walter  seemed 
to  complete  her  happiness.  She  determined  that  he  should 
see  for  himself  that  she  had  no  intention  of  attempting  to 
convert  him  to  Catholicism.  During  the  long  hours  of 
recovery  from  her  illness  she  had  thought  deeply  and 
earnestly,  and  Walter,  as  Mr.  Shirley  had  advised  him  to 
do,  had  let  her  think. 

The  result  had  been  a  firm  resolution  on  Hilda's  part 
not  to  allow  her  relatives  to  interfere  between  her  hus- 
band and  herself.  If  he  were  to  be  brought  into  the 
Church,  she  told  herself  that  it  should  be  through  the 
action  of  love,  but  not  through  the  intrigues  of  man.  It 
was  not,  she  had  now  convinced  herself,  the  anxiety  to 
save  Walter's  soul  that  troubled  Lady  Merton  and  the 
priests,  but  the  desire  to  secure  a  prominent  convert  to 
the  Church.  But  they  had  gone  too  far  in  their  endeav- 
ours to  work  upon  her  fears  for  the  future,  and  Hilda 
determined  that  she  would  leave  the  future  to  God. 
Walter  had  told  her  of  the  attempt  made  to  introduce  a 
religious  into  her  sick-room,  and  of  the  difficulty  which 
he  and  Dr.  Siddons  had  in  preventing  her  relations  from 
forcing  their  presence  upou  her.     The  letters  which  she 


212  CASTING    OF    NETS 

had  received  during  her  convalescence  from  Lady  Merton 
and  from  her  mother  had  been  full  of  bitter  reproaches 
for  her  unnatural  conduct  in  consenting  that  they  should 
be  kept  at  a  distance  from  her,  and  Lady  Merton  es- 
pecially implored  her  to  take  to  heart  the  solemn  warning 
of  His  displeasure  with  which  Almighty  God  had  visited 
her.  Hilda  showed  the  letters  to  her  husband.  That 
she  felt  herself  able  to  do  so  was  a  proof  in  itself  of  the 
difference  which  had  taken  place  in  their  mutual  rela- 
tions so  far  as  the  discussing  of  religious  matters  was 
concerned. 

Walter  Redman  had  said  very  little  after  reading  the 
letters ;  he  had  already  had  ample  opportunity  of  forming 
his  own  conclusions  as  to  the  tactics  which  had  been 
pursued  in  order  to  compass  his  conversion,  and  he 
refrained  from  uttering  a  word  to  his  wife  which  would 
seem  to  hold  her  faith  responsible  for  the  dishonesty  and 
worldliness  of  those  who  professed  to  be  acting  in  accord- 
ance with  its  maxims. 

He  had  been  much  struck,  indeed,  by  the  fact  that, 
notwithstanding  all  that  Hilda  had  passed  through  at 
the  hands  of  her  Church,  and  her  evident  pain  and 
disgust  at  the  part  which  had  been  played  by  her  family 
and  her  clerical  advisers,  her  belief  in  her  religion  re- 
mained unshaken.  She  had  said  to  him  repeatedly  that 
the  Church  was  not  responsible  for  the  sayings  and 
doings  of  those  who  were  over-zealous  in  its  cause,  and 
Walter  thought  he  detected  in  his  wife  an  almost  nervous 
eagerness  that  he  should  not  imagine  she  blamed  her 
religion  for  all  which  had  been  done  in  its  name. 

It  was  very  evident  to  both  of  them  that  after  their 


CASTING    OF    NETS  213 

return  to  Abbotsbury  it  would  be  impossible  to  prevent 
Lady  Gwendolen  from  visiting  her  daughter.  Hilda 
had  felt  the  separation  from  her  mother  very  aeutely, 
but  she  knew  well  enough  that  the  latter  was  entirely 
under  Lady  Merton's  influence,  and  would  certainly 
continue  her  propaganda  should  she  be  allowed  to  be 
with  her.  Walter  had  implored  her  to  be  firm,  and 
to  decline  Lady  Gwendolen's  suggestion  that  the  latter 
should  accompany  her  to  Filey  and  remain  with  her 
while  he  was  shooting  in  Scotland.  The  knowledge 
that  she  was  no  longer  obliged  to  keep  her  thoughts 
locked  up  in  her  own  heart,  but  could  now  talk  freely 
with  her  husband,  caused  Hilda  to  feel  almost  indifferent 
to  the  prospect  of  future  remonstrances  and  pious  lectures 
on  the  part  of  her  mother  and  Lady  Merton.  She  felt 
that  it  was  beyond  their  power  to  terrify  her  any  more 
by  their  pictures  of  the  future  misery  which  was  await- 
ing her  and  those  dear  to  her.  Even  Father  Galsworthy, 
she  said  to  herself,  would  be  unable  to  overawe  her  by 
his  threats  and  expostulations.  The  spell  of  superstition 
had  broken  down  under  the  calm  and  quiet  reasoning 
of  the  past  few  weeks ;  a  twofold  strength  had  come  to 
her,  for  she  knew  that  she  was  no  longer  to  fight  a 
spiritual  fight  single-handed. 

Both  Hilda  and  her  husband  were  delighted  to  find 
themselves  back  at  Abbotsbury  once  more,  and  the 
autumn  and  winter  months  were  to  be  devoted  to  the 
entertaining  of  a  succession  of  shooting-parties.  Hilda 
was  naturally  fond  of  society,  and  she  looked  forward 
to  seeing  her  friends  at  Abbotsbury  after  so  many  months 
of  enforced  retirement.     The  people  of  the  place  welcomed 


214  CASTING    OF    NETS 

them  back  with  a  genuine  heartiness,  for  the  news  of 
Hilda's  illness  had  been  received  with  sorrow  and  dismay 
by  all  classes  in  the  district  round  Abbotsbury.  From 
no  one  did  Hilda  receive  a  warmer  greeting  than  from 
Mr.  Russell.  The  Rector  had  rapidly  grown  both  to 
like  and  esteem  Lady  Redman.  At  the  time  of  her  ill- 
ness many  instances  of  her  thoughtful  kindness  to  the 
poor  and  the  ailing,  not  only  at  Abbotsbury,  but  also  at 
Trentford  and  more  distant  places,  came  to  his  ears,  and 
he  had  reproached  himself  somewhat  severely  for  his 
narrow-mindedness  in  having  been  inclined  to  regard  her 
coming  to  Abbotsbury  as  a  misfortune. 

Mr.  Russell  had  been  a  little  surprised  that  his  wife 
did  not  respond  so  cordially  to  his  praises  of  Lady  Red- 
man as  he  had  expected  her  to  do.  He  had  noticed  of 
late  that  when  he  mentioned  Hilda's  name  she  had  spoken 
of  her  with  an  almost  disapproving  air,  and  he  wondered 
what  the  reason  for  it  might  be. 

'  I  consider  that  Hilda  is  strangely  careless  of  her  duty 
towards  Walter,'  she  had  said  to  the  Rector  a  day  or  two 
before  the  Redmans'  return  home.  '  Her  utter  indiifer- 
ence  to  his  atheism  is  shocking,  especially  in  a  Catholic. 
I  know  that  her  mother  and  all  her  family  are  greatly 
distressed  at  the  callous  way  in  which  she  accepts  what 
ought  to  be  so  great  a  sorrow  to  her.' 

Lord  and  Lady  Redman  had  not  been  at  the  Hall  many 
days  before  it  became  evident  that  the  intimacy  which  had 
existed  during  the  previous  winter  between  the  latter  and 
ISIary  Russell  was  not  taken  up  exactly  where  it  had  been 
left.  Hilda  herself  was  certainly  not  to  blame  for  this. 
She  had  gone  over   to   the  Rectory   the   day  after   her 


CASTING    OF    NETS  215 

arrival  at  Abbotsbury,  and  it  liad  struck  her  that,  though 
the  Rector's  welcome  was  cordial  enough,  that  of  his  wife 
was  somewhat  cold. 

Mr.  Russell  had  innocently  alluded  to  his  wife  having 
stayed  with  Lady  Merton  in  the  course  of  the  conversa- 
tion, and  had  politely  expressed  his  regret  at  not  having 
been  able  to  accompany  her.  To  Hilda's  surprise,  Mary 
Russell  had  looked  somewhat  embarrassed  at  the  mention 
of  the  visit,  and  Iiad  rather  abruptly  begun  to  talk  on 
some  other  topic.  Hilda  thouglit  it  strange  that  neither 
Mrs.  Russell  nor  Lady  Merton  should  ever  have  alluded 
to  the  fact  of  the  former  having  been  to  Ware  in  their 
letters  to  her,  and  that  evening  at  dinner  she  mentioned 
it  to  her  husband. 

Walter  did  not  attach  any  particular  importance  to  the 
matter.  He  had  never  told  his  wife  of  the  conversations 
w^hich  he  and  Mary  Russell  had  together  before  her  ill- 
ness. Mary  had  begged  him  not  to  do  so,  and,  believ- 
ing that  Hilda  had  confided  in  her,  he  had  judged  it  to 
be  wiser  not  to  let  the  former  suppose  that  Mrs.  Russell 
talked  to  him  of  what  she  might  have  said. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Walter  Redman  had  pondered 
very  deeply  over  some  of  his  cousin's  words.  Until 
Mary  Russell  had  told  him  so,  it  had  never  struck  him 
that  Hilda  might  resent  his  silence  as  to  his  religious 
ideas  and  opinions  as  a  want  of  confidence  in  his  wife, 
and  the  thought  that  she  might  be  mortified  and  hurt 
at  his  reticence  on  such  matters  had  perhaps  left  more 
impression  on  his  mind  than  Mrs.  Russell  had  calculated 
would  be  the  case. 

*  I  think  that  Mary  is  a  little  offended  \vith  me/  said 


2i6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Hilda  that  evening  at  dinner.  Walter  and  she  were  alone 
together.  The  following  day  some  guests  were  coniijig 
to  stay  with  them,  and,  among  others,  Lady  Gwendolen 
Cawarden  was  to  be  of  the  party. 

^  Why  should  she  be  so  ? '  asked  Walter. 

*I  have  no  idea.  Unless  it  is  because  I  have  not 
written  to  her  very  often  since  we  have  been  away. 
Mr.  Russell  was  very  friendly  this  morning,  and  he 
looked  quite  pleased  to  see  me,  but  I  thought  Mary's 
manner  was  a  little  stiff.' 

^  Russell  is  a  good  chap,'  said  Lord  Redman,  '  as  long  as 
he  don't  preach ;  then  he  is  apt  to  be  exceedingly  tiresome.' 

Hilda  laughed. 

'  I  don't  believe  you  know  anything  about  it,  Walter,' 
she  said.  ^  I  expect  you  are  generally  asleep  during  the 
sermons,  on  the  rare  occasions  when  you  make  up  your 
mind  to  go  to  church.' 

Walter  looked  at  her  and  laughed  also. 

'  I  'm  afraid  that  is  true,'  he  replied.  '  Do  you  know, 
Hilda,'  he  continued,  '  I  am  going  to  be  very  virtuous 
this  winter.  I  expect  church-going  is  a  habit  — very 
much  like  cleaning  one's  teeth.  I  think  I  shall  try  and 
get  into  it,  and  then,  perhaps,  it  will  not  seem  to  be 
such  a  waste  of  time.' 

'You  might  try  it,  certainly,'  said  Hilda  indifferently, 
though  there  was  laughter  in  her  eyes.  '  Your  teeth  have 
not  suffered  from  the  habit  of  cleaning  them,  I  imagine,' 
she  added. 

'  I  believe  not,'  replied  Walter  gravely.  '  Perhaps,'  he 
continued  hesitatingly,  *  you  would  take  me  with  you  to 
Abbotsbridge  sometimes  ? ' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  217 

The  smile  died  out  of  Hilda's  eyes,  and  an  uneasy 
expression  came  into  them. 

'I  do  not  intend  to  go  to  church  at  Abbotsbridge  any 
more,'  she  answered.     *  I  shall  go  into  Trentford  instead/ 

'  Take  me  to  Trentford,  then.' 

Hilda  looked  at  him. 

'No,  Walter,  I  will  not,'  she  said  decidedly.  'You 
have  your  own  church  here,  and  it  is  much  better  for 
all  the  people  about  that  you  should  attend  it.  If  you 
came  with  me,  everybody  would  say  that  I  was  trying  to 
convert  you.* 

'  And  would  they  not  be  right  ?  ' 

'No,  they  would  not !  you  know  that  they  would  not, 
Walter.  Shall  I  tell  you  something  ? '  she  added.  '  I 
used  to  think  how  thankful  and  happy  I  should  be  if  I 
could  be  the  means  of  influencing  you,  and  of  making 
you  become  a  Catholic' 

She  paused  for  a  moment  and  looked  at  her  husband 
earnestly. 

'  And  now  ?  '  he  asked  gently 

'  Now,'  replied  Hilda,  '  I  have  learned  to  hate  the  w^ord 
"  influence."  I  do  not  think  that  you  will  ever  become  a 
Catholic ;  but  if  you  do,  it  shall  be  through  no  influence 
of  mine.' 

Walter  looked  at  her  in  surprise. 

'  Who  else  should  influence  me  ?  ' 

'God.' 

'  Everything  is  put  upon  God's  shoulders,'  answered 
Walter. 

'  Yes,  T  know,'  returned  Hilda  hurriedly  ;  '  that  is  what 
is  so  canting ;  but  I  mean  God's  influence  really,  not  the 


2i8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

human  influence  working  for  human  motives  which  is 
hypocritically  attributed  to  Him  in  order  to  conceal  its 
true  nature.  That  is  why  I  have  learned  to  hate  the 
word  as  applied  to  conversions.  It  means  the  discover- 
ing of  a  weak  place  in  the  character  of  the  convert,  and 
playing  upon  that  weakness  in  the  name  of  God  for  mo- 
tives with  which  God  has  nothing  to  do.' 

*  And  you  would  not  play  upon  my  weak  point  ? '  said 
Walter  Redman,  smiling. 

'  Your  weak  point ! '  repeated  Hilda.  '  I  do  not 
know ' 

'  Dear,'  he  interrupted  softly,  '  I  think  that  you  know 
very  well.' 

Hilda  was  silent  for  a  moment. 

'  And  if  I  do,'  she  said  presently,  ^  I  am  all  the  more 
determined  never  to  attempt  to  influence  your  religious 
opinions.  If  God  wants  you  to  be  a  Catholic,  Walter, 
you  will  be  one  without  any  human  interference.' 

'  What  would  Lady  Merton  say  to  such  a  sentiment  ?  ' 

'Oh,'  replied  Hilda,  'you  know  what  she  would  say; 
but  you  must  remember  that  she  considers  herself  to  have 
an  especial  calling  to  make  converts.  You  must  not  think 
that  we  are  all  like  my  grandmother.' 

'  I  assure  you  that  I  do  not ! '  answered  Walter,  smil- 
ing a  little  at  his  wife's  eaojerness.  '  I  think  the  mania 
for  convert-making  is  almost  a  peculiarity  of  you  English 
Catholics,  and  no  doubt  it  is  very  natural  that  it  should 
be  so.  I  have  known  plenty  of  foreign  Catholics,  but  I 
have  not  found  this  mania  among  them.  In  England 
I  have  noticed  that  it  exists  chiefly  among  the  elderly 
women  and  the   priests,  and  the   young  men  who  have 


CASTING    OF    NETS  219 

been  converted  themselves.     I   have  always  regarded  it 
as  another  example  of  the  egoism  of  religion.' 

'  And  why  so  ? '  asked  Hilda. 

Lord  Redman  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

'  You  know  the  fable  of  the  fox  who  lost  his  brush/  he 
replied.  ^  When  a  person  is  converted  to  another  religion, 
he  has  to  try  his  best  not  to  be  thought  a  fool  by  his  former 
co-religionists,  and  the  latter  are  annoyed  with  him  be- 
cause it  is  evident  that  he  considers  them  to  be  fools.* 

Hilda  laughed.  Since  she  and  her  husband  had  dis- 
cussed such  topics  together  she  had  become  accustomed 
to  his  satirical  remarks.  It  was  not  to  be  w^ondered  at, 
she  thought,  if  strangers  and  casual  acquaintances  regarded 
him  as  a  sceptic  in  matters  of  religious  faith. 

'At  any  rate  you  can't  think  me  a  fool,  Walter,'  she 
observed  quietly. 

AValter  Redman  glanced  at  her  appreciatively.  It  was 
satisfactory  to  live  with  a  woman  who  had  a  sense  of 

humour. 

'You  are  not  a  convert,'  he  replied,  lighting  a  cigarette. 
'  Then  you  will  not  take  me  to  church  with  you  at  Trent- 
ford?'  he  added. 

'No,'  replied  Hilda,  smiling,  'I  will  not.  Do  you 
think  it  very  odd  of  me?  I  should  be  very  thankful  if 
you  and  I  w^ere  both  of  the  same  faith ;  but  I  do  not 
want  you  to  become  a  Catholic  from  any  other  motive  than 
a  genuine  convection  of  the  truth  of  Catholicism.  Do  you 
know  what  the  one  question  is  which  I  have  invariably 
heard  asked  about  a  convert?  "Who  has  converted 
him  ?  "  I  have  always  noticed  that  the  answer  is  never 
that  which  it  surely  ought  to  be.     It  is  never  "God."' 


220  CASTING    OF    NETS 

There  was  no  levity  in  Walter  Redman's  glance,  or  in 
the  tone  of  his  voice  as  he  answered  her. 

'  What  has  made  you  think  of  these  things  ? '  he  said. 

*I  have  had  plenty  of  time  for  thinking  lately,' 
replied  Hilda;  ^and  if  you  were  ever  to  become  a 
Catholic,  I  should  like  the  reply  to  the  question  which 
would  inevitably  be  asked  as  to  who  converted  you  to 
be  "God."  I  would  not  have  it  be  "His  wife,"  or 
"Father  Somebody.'" 

*But,  Hilda,  God  is  supposed  to  work  through 
intermediaries ! ' 

Hilda  Redman  made  a  little  gesture  of  impatience. 

^  Yes,'  she  answered,  and  there  was  a  ring  of  contempt 
in  her  voice  which  Walter  had  never  heard  before.  '  It 
is  a  very  convenient  means  of  trading  upon  the  supersti- 
tions of  those  who  believe  in  Him.  I  might  persuade 
myself,  as  others  have  left  no  methods  untried  to  persuade 
me,  that  God  willed  me  to  convert  you  to  Catholicism, 
and  it  is  barely  conceivable  that  I  might  succeed  in  doing 
so.  But  it  would  all  be  a  lie,  my  action,  your  conversion 
—  all.  I  wonder  how  much  of  our  longing  that  those 
about  us  should  be  of  the  same  religion  as  ourselves  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  our  vanity  is  offended  because  they 
differ  from  us?' 

^That  is  probably  at  the  basis  of  most  dogmatic 
religion,'  said  Walter.  ^Does  it  make  so  much  differ- 
ence to  you  that  I  am  not  a  Catholic?'  he  continued, 
looking  at  his  wife  steadily. 

'It  does  not  offend  my  vanity,  if  you  mean  that,' 
replied  Hilda,  with  a  slight  smile.  'I  wish  you  were 
one,  because  I  hate  to  feel  that  there  is  anything  which 


CASTING    OF    NETS  221 

divides  us  from  each  other,  and  if  it  is  all  true  —  if  it  is 

all  true '  she  repeated,  and  then  she  hesitated  and 

stopped. 

Walter  Redman  sat  and  watched  her  in  silence.  He 
would  not  tell  her  that  to  him  it  was  all  theory,  this 
mighty  fabric  which  theology  had  built  upon  the  primitive 
superstitions  of  mankind ;  this  fetish  which  the  priests 
and  the  churches  had  set  up  in  the  place  of  that  true 
God  who,  dwelling  in  the  midst  of  His  creatures,  needed 
no  priest  or  temple  from  whence  to  speak  to  those  who 
knew  where  to  search  for  Him,  and  how  to  read  His 
gospel  in  the  writings  traced  by  His  own  hand  in  the 
woodlands  and  the  waters,  and  in  all  the  moving  pageantry 
ofUfe. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  autumn  passed  pleasantly  enougli  at  Abbots- 
bury.  A  succession  of  visitors  filled  the  house 
throughout  November  and  December,  and  the  Christmas 
festivities  of  the  preceding  year  had  been  repeated  ac- 
cording to  the  old  traditions  of  the  place.  The  gathering 
at  the  Hall,  however,  during  Christmastide  had  not  been 
so  much  of  a  family  function  as  that  of  the  year  before. 
The  Cawardens  were  keeping  Christmas  at  their  own 
place  in  Lancashire,  and  Lady  Merton  was  in  Rome. 
There  were  various  members  of  the  Redman  family,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  party  consisted  of  old  friends,  of 
whom  Mr.  Shirley  was  one. 

Hilda  had  been  strongly  advised  by  her  doctor  to  go 
abroad  immediately  after  Christmas.  Though  she  had 
recovered  satisfactorily,  the  climate  of  the  Trent  Valley 
in  winter  and  early  spring,  with  its  damp,  cold  fogs,  or 
keen  easterly  winds,  was  not  all  that  could  be  desired 
for  one  who  had  recently  been  through  a  severe  illness. 
The  difficulty  had  been  to  decide  where  she  and  Walter 
should  go.  Hilda  declared  that  she  would  not  go  to  the 
Riviera.  She  had  been  several  times  to  Cannes  and 
Mentone  when  she  was  a  girl,  and  had  cordially  disliked 
them,  and  Walter  shared  her  dislike  both  of  the  places 
and  of  the  life  led  in  them. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  223 

The  most  interesting  place  that  year  within  a  reason- 
able distance  of  England  seemed  to  be  Rome.  Lady 
JMerton  had  written  to  her  daughter  glowing  descriptions 
of  the  impressive  scenes  to  be  witnessed  in  the  Eternal 
City  in  consequence  of  the  solemnities  of  the  Anno  Santo, 
and  Lady  Gwendolen  had  duly  passed  them  on  to  Hilda ; 
for  since  Lady  Redman's  illness  her  grandmother  had 
corresponded  with  the  latter  far  less  frequently,  and  her 
letters  were  marked  by  a  tone  of  decided  disapproval 
and  almost  of  coldness. 

Hilda  had  never  been  to  Rome,  and  the  idea  of  visiting 
it  for  the  first  time  during  a  Jubilee  year  appealed  to  her. 
Though  she  scarcely  confessed  as  much  to  herself,  she 
cherished  some  latent  hope  that  a  spring  spent  at  Rome 
at  a  moment  when  the  Church  was  celebrating  some  of 
its  most  imposing  functions  might  serve  as  an  object- 
lesson  to  Walter,  and  might  help  to  awaken  in  him  a 
sense  of  the  universal  power  and  influence  of  Catholicism. 

The  suggestion  that  they  should  spend  two  or  three 
months  at  Rome  had  originated  with  Lady  Gwendolen, 
and  when  Lord  Redman  saw  that  his  wife  was  evidently 
pleased  with  the  idea,  he  had  at  once  agreed  to  it.  In- 
deed, Walter  Redman  was  thankful  that  the  Riviera  was 
not  to  be  his  fate  for  the  spring.  He  knew  Rome  fairly 
well,  and  was  fond  of  it  —  as  who  is  not  who  really  knows 
Rome  ? 

The  matter  was  not  finally  settled  until  shortly  before 
Christmas,  and  when  Mr.  Shirley  heard  where  Lord  and 
Lady  Redman  were  thinking  of  going  for  the  spring,  he 
manifested  some  surprise.  He  had  heard  from  Walter 
of  the  circumstances  which  had  attended  Hilda's  illness, 


224  CASTING    OF    NETS 

and  whence  the  direct  cause  of  her  premature  confine- 
ment had  proceeded. 

'  I  think  Rome  is  as  good  a  place  as  any  other  to  spend 
a  few  weeks  in,  and  my  wife  has  never  been  there/  Walter 
said,  when  discussing  his  plans  with  Mr.  Shirley,  as  they 
were  walking  together  one  foggy  afternoon  at  Abbots- 
bm-y,  in  a  wooded  part  of  the  grounds  known  as  the 
Groves. 

Mr.  Shirley  paused  and  poked  a  piece  of  paper  into 
the  damp  soil  with  the  point  of  his  walking-stick. 

'  I  cannot  bear  seeing  bits  of  paper  lying  about ;  it  is 
one  of  my  eccentricities,'  he  said,  smiling. 

'  It  is  probably  a  love-letter  of  one  of  the  under-garden- 
ers,'  remarked  Walter.  '  But  what  do  you  think  of  our 
Roman  scheme  ? '  he  added  after  his  companion  had  com- 
pleted the  operation  to  his  satisfaction,  and  had  carefully 
smoothed  the  surface  of  the  soil  which  covered  the  offend- 
ing object. 

'I  think,'  replied  Mr.  Shirley,  'that  you  are  a  very 
bold  man.  You  are  taking  your  wife  to  a  place  where 
she  will  immediately  be  surrounded  by  people  of  the  Lady 
Merton  type.  It  is  a  species  which  flourishes  exceedingly 
at  Rome  —  in  the  English  society,  I  mean  —  and  in  that 
Black  world  to  which  piety,  real  or  assumed,  is  an  en- 
trance ticket.  I  am  afraid  that  they  will  surround  Lady 
Redman  like  flies.' 

Walter  Redman  laughed. 

'I  have  seen  the  sort  of  thing,'  he  said.  'It  is  very 
amusing:  to  watch  for  a  short  time.  I  don't  think,  Ned, 
that  it  will  be  bad  for  Hilda  to  see  it  also.  She  can  take 
care  of  herself  now,  I  fancy.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  225 

Mr.  Shirley  luukcd  at  him  with  .sonic  curiosity. 

*  Do  you  inciui  to  go  to  lloiue  as  au  experiment  ? '  he 
asked  dryly. 

'No,'  said  Walter  simply.  'I  have  never  thought  of 
it  in  that  light.  There  is  nothing  to  experimentalize 
about,  I  am  glad  to  say.  Hilda  and  I  understand  one 
another  perfectly,  and  there  is  now  no  fear  of  mischief 
being  made  between  us  by  our  pious  friends.' 

'  Well/  said  ]Mr.  Shirley,  ^  whether  you  intend  it  to 
be  so,  or  not,  I  still  regard  your  taking  Lady  Redman 
to  Rome  in  the  light  of  an  experiment.  One  thing  is 
certain  :  nobody  —  no  thinking  person,  that  is  —  can  go  to 
Rome  for  the  first  time  and  leave  it  in  the  same  state  of 
mind  as  that  in  which  they  came  to  it.  I  am  speaking, 
of  course,  of  its  effect  upon  religious  thought.' 

^You  must  remember  that  it  is  her  Mecca,'  replied 
Walter  Redman.  ^It  is  natural  that  she  should  wish 
to  go  there  this  year,  which,  as  I  understand,  is  par- 
ticularly holy.' 

Mr.  Shirley's  lips  curled  slightly.  He  knew  the  true 
history  and  origin  of  Papal  Jubilees. 

*  Of  course,'  he  said  quietly ;  '  but  I  was  not  thinking 
so  much  of  Lady  Redman  as  of  yourself,  Walter.' 

^  And  why  of  me  ?  Rome  is  not  my  Mecca,  and  I 
am  not  going  to  it  for  the  first  time  ! ' 

'In  a  sense  you  are  going  to  it  for  the  first  time,' 
said  Mr.  Sliirley ;  *  for,  on  your  former  visits  there,  you 
were  merely  a  spectator,  looking  on  at  a  remarkable 
psychological  phenomenon  in  which  you  had  no  personal 
concern  beyond  that  prompted  by  curiosity.' 

'  Do   you  call   the   Church   of  Rome   a   psychological 

15 


226  CASTING    OF    NETS 

phenomenon?'    asked    Walter,    laughing.      'That    is    a 
very  characteristic  remark  of  yours,  Ned  I' 

'  Certainly  I  do,'  answered  Mr.  Shirley.  '  It  is  that 
which  causes  its  study  to  be  one  of  almost  inexhaustible 
interest ;  and  nowhere  can  it  be  studied  to  more  advan- 
tage than  at  its  centre.' 

*But  I  have  little  more  personal  concern  in  it  now 
than  I  had  formerly,'  said  Walter. 

'  Have  you  not  ?  If  that  child  had  been  born  alive, 
you  would  already  have  begun  to  think  differently. 
This  is  why  I  cannot  help  wondering  what  the  result  of 
your  visit  to  Rome  will  be.  Lady  Redman  is  hardly 
likely  to  be  disillusionized  by  what  she  will  see  there  — 
and  you  have  no  illusions.' 

'  And  therefore  we  shall  both  return  in  the  same  frame 
of  mind  as  we  went.' 

Mr.  Shirley  shook  his  head. 

*  I  do  not  think  that  you  will,'  he  replied,  '  whatever 
may  be  the  case  with  your  wife.  I  am  afraid,'  he  con- 
tinued, '  that  Lady  Redman  will  naturally  fall  into  the  Eng- 
lish Catholic  set  in  Rome.  It  will  be  very  difficult  for  her 
not  to  do  so.     Have  you  considered  this  contingency  ? ' 

'Yes,'  answered  Lord  Redman;  'we  have  both  con- 
sidered it  —  Hilda  not  less  so  than  myself.  I  am  more 
bored  than  alarmed  at  the  prospect.' 

Mr.  Shirley  chuckled. 

'  That  I  can  well  understand,*  he  said ;  '  I  have  studied 
that  society  myself.  At  first  it  is  interesting,  if  only  on 
account  of  the  novelty  of  finding  one's  self  among  a  set  of 
one's  fellow-creatures  who  have  lost  both  the  power  of 
reasoning  and  the  sense  of  humour.     They  are  forbidden 


CASTING    OF    NETS  227 

to  exercise  the  former,  even  if  tliey  possess  it.  The  dan- 
ger to  Lady  Redman  will  be  that  the  old  ladies,  and  the 
priests  who  go  to  tea  with  them,  will  attempt  to  renew 
their  endeavours  to  oblige  your  wife  to  convert  you,  which 
have  already  nearly  led  to  such  disastrous  consequences.' 

'  I  am  happy  to  say,'  replied  Walter,  *  that  my  wife 
has  shown  signs  of  being  determined  to  exercise  her 
reason ;  and  she  has  no  lack  of  the  sense  of  humour. 
I  feel  no  uneasiness  as  to  her  again  allowing  her  re- 
ligious feelings  to  be  worked  upon.  She  seems  to  me 
to  have  drawn  a  very  distinct  line  in  her  own  mind 
between  religion  and  religious  people.  I  think  that  she 
will  defend  herself  against  any  further  attempts  of  these 
last  to  interfere  with  her.  But  you  say  that  you  are 
more  inclined  to  think  of  some  mysterious  danger  to  me 
as  resulting  from  our  expedition  to  Rome.  I  really  can't 
see  where  I  come  in,  Ned.' 

Mr.  Shirley  smiled. 

'  Perhaps  you  won't  come  in,'  he  replied.  ^  It  will  very 
much  depend  upon  the  effect  which  Rome  produces  upon 
you,  under  the  present  circumstance  of  your  life,  whether 
you  do  or  don't.  In  one  thing,  however,  I  may  advise  you 
for  your  future  happiness  and  peace  of  mind :  Do  your 
best  to  show  your  wife  the  other  side  of  the  picture  at 
Rome.  Do  not  let  her  imaorine  that  what  she  is  allowed 
to  see,  and  hear,  and  know,  by  Lady  Merton  and  her  en- 
tourage, is  the  real  Rome.  The  priests  play  with  these 
pious  old  ladies  and  weak-minded  men  as  cats  play  with 
mice.  Most  of  them  are  honest,  and  believe  all  they  are 
told.  A  certain  number  are  not  so,  and  are  advertising 
their  piety  merely  as  a  means  of  getting  into  society.     Thg 


228  CASTING    OF    NETS 

latter  peculiarity,  I  have  always  thought,  is  oue  of  the 
most  amusing  features  of  Roman  life.  There  are  men  and 
women  who  get  up  very  early  every  morning  and  go  to 
Mass,  in  order  that  they  may  sit  up  very  late  in  the  evening 
and  be  seen  in  the  exclusive  Black  houses.  You  do  not 
understand  ?  Ah,  well,  you  will  do  so  if  you  watch  a  few 
social  careers  in  Rome  —  among  our  English  compatriots, 
I  mean ;  no  other  nationality  exploits  the  next  world  in 
order  to  obtain  social  successes  in  this.  No !  I  advise 
you  both  to  watch  the  show  as  you  would  watcli  any 
other  comedy  —  for  a  good  deal  of  amusement  and  a  little 
instruction.  After  all,  from  the  Pope  on  the  Sedia  Gesta- 
toria  blessing  the  crowd  in  St.  Peter's  to  the  monsignori 
at  Lady  Merton's  parties,  from  the  miraculous  Madonnas 
in  the  churches  to  the  Venuses  in  the  museums,  from  the 
Christs  and  St.  Sebastians  to  the  Apollos  and  the  Adonises, 
all  Rome  is  a  puppet-show,  and  the  only  things  which  have 
been  altered  by  Roman  Christianity  are  the  names  of  the 
puppets.' 

Lord  Redman  looked  at  his  companion  with  an  amused 
expression.  He  enjoyed  drawing  Mr.  Shirley  out  upon  his 
favourite  theories. 

*  Then  Roman  Catholicism ' 

^  Is  an  adapted  form  of  Grseco-Roman  paganism,  with  a 
dash  of  Egyptian  cult  thrown  in.' 

'  And  the  result  is  ? ' 

'  Lady  Merton ! '  said  Mr.  Shirley  dryly. 

Walter  Redman  burst  into  a  shout  of  laughter. 

'  You  would  be  a  most  useful  guide  in  Rome,  Ned,'  he 
exclaimed.  '  I  think  you  had  better  come  with  us,  only 
your  sentiments  would  horrify  my  wife.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  229 

Mr.  Shirley  smiled  again. 

*I  keep  my  pagan  sentiments  for  your  old  oak-trees,'  he 
said,  looking  round  the  groves.     'They  understand.' 

Walter  looked  at  him  quiekly. 

'  I  never  know  how  far  to  take  you  seriously,'  he  said. 
*  Is  there  uo  such  thing  as  truth  for  you  anywhere  in  the 
world?' 

*  Wherever  the  Breath  of  Life  is,  there  is  Truth  ! '  replied 
My.  Shirley,  and  the  sarcasm  of  his  manner  vanished  as  he 
spoke ;  '  but  the  special  location  of  Truth  is  the  greatest 
of  all  lies.  That  is  the  lie  common  to  Christianity,  and 
which,  in  the  Roman  Church,  reaches  the  depths  of  igno- 
rant blasphemy.  But,  even  so,  Truth  exists  in  Christianity, 
as  it  exists  wherever  created  matter  follows  the  Supreme 
Will  and  shapes  its  course  to  the  Divine  Ends.  There  is 
onlv  one  thins:  in  this  world  which  has  been  able  to  con- 
found  Truth,  and  that  is  Fear.  It  is  Fear  which  makes 
men  seek  to  locate  Truth  —  human  fear  and  distrust  of 
God,  and  it  is  upon  these  that  the  churches  and  the 
priests  thrive  and  multiply.  Do  you  know  many  people 
in  Rome  ? '  added  Mr.  Shirley  somewhat  abruptly. 

*  Hardly  anyone,'  replied  Walter,  *  except  a  few  Romans 
whom  I  have  met  over  here.  I  know  the  Brancaleones, 
of  course,  and  one  or  two  others  who  come  to  England, 
but  I  don't  think  that  Hilda  knows  anybody  there.' 

'  Oh,  the  Brancaleones ! '  said  Mr.  Shirley.  '  They  have 
a  pleasant  house.  You  will  not  meet  the  convert  element 
in  Princess  Brancaleone's  drawing-rooms.  I  should  like 
to  give  you  a  letter  of  introduction  to  a  very  old  friend  of 
mine  in  Rome.  He  is  a  man  in  whom  you  and  Lady  Red- 
man would  be  interested.' 


230  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  Do,  by  all  means/  replied  Walter.  '  What  is  his  line 
—  literary,  scientific?  His  ideas  won't  shock  Hilda,  I 
hope ! ' 

*  He  is  a  priest/  replied  Mr.  Shirley. 
^  A  priest !  and  a  friend  of  yours  ? ' 

'And  why  not?  I  have  several  friends  among  the 
Roman  Catholic  clergy,  both  in  Italy  and  in  France.  Does 
the  fact  surprise  you  so  much  ? ' 

^  Well,  yes,  my  dear  fellow,  it  does.' 

*  I  cannot  see  why  it  should.  I  don't  agree  with  them, 
but  I  respect  and  admire  them.  They  are  rare  of  their 
kind,  that  I  grant  you;  but,  being  so,  they  are  all  the 
more  valuable.  This  particular  priest,  whose  acquaintance 
I  should  like  you  to  make,  is  a  certain  Monsignor  Martini. 
He  is  a  Roman,  but  he  has  travelled  much,  and  is  an  ex- 
tremely enlightened  and  cultivated  man.  You  are  very 
likely  to  meet  him  if  you  go  to  the  Brancaleones' ;  he  is  a 
great  favourite  of  theirs.  But  if  you  care  to  take  a  letter 
to  him  from  me,  I  think  he  would  be  useful  to  you.  He 
will  make  you  and  Lady  Redman  acquainted  with  some 
of  the  most  interesting  people,  lay  and  ecclesiastical,  of  the 
city  —  people  you  would  rarely  meet  in  ordinary  society, 
and  never  in  the  houses  frequented  by  Lady  IMerton's 
clique' 

'■  I  should  like  very  much  to  have  a  letter  to  him,'  said 
Walter;  ^but  I  hope  he  talks  something  else  besides 
Italian,  for  Hilda  does  not  know  the  language.' 

^  Martini  is  supposed  to  know  fourteen  languages,'  an- 
swered ]Mr.  Shirley,  ^  and  to  talk  them  all  well.  If  he  talks 
the  remaining  thirteen  as  well  as  he  talks  English,  I  envy 
him  his  talent  as  a  linguist.     He  has  been  a  great  deal  in 


CASTING    OF    NETS  231 

Englaiul,  aiul  you  will  find  liiiii  perfectly  well  inforiiied  on 
all  our  peculiarities,  religious  and  otherwise.' 

*Is  he  at  the  Vaticau? '  inquired  Walter. 

*Not  now.  He  used  to  be.  I  forget  in  what  capacity. 
At  present  he  is  not  at  all  well  looked  u})on  by  the  author- 
ities, on  account  of  his  liberal  and  conciliatory  utterances 
and  writings.  lie  is  a  Rosniinian,  and  is  not,  therefore, 
tolerated  by  the  reactionary  and  ultramontane  wire-pullers 
who  stand  behind  the  Pope.  He  is  obliged  to  keep  very 
quiet,  lest  he  should  have  an  attack  of  pneumonia.' 

'  Pneumonia ! ' 

*  Pobnonite,  it  is  called  in  Rome.  It  is  very  fatal  in 
that  climate,  especially  to  would-be  religious  reformers,' 
said  Mr.  Shirley  dryly.  ^  Martini,  I  conclude,  does  not 
want  to  share  the  fate  of  his  hero,  Rosmini.  He  keeps 
himself  very  carefully  in  the  background  so  long  as  the 
Jesuits  rule  through  Leo  XIII.  But  to  those  with  whom 
he  feels  it  is  safe  to  do  so,  he  will  talk  freely,  and  I  have 
spent  many  delightful  hours  in  his  company,  and  in  that 
of  some  of  his  friends  to  w^hom  he  has  introduced  me.' 

'  I  hope  you  will  come  to  Rome  yourself,  Ned,  while 
we  are  there,'  said  Walter  Redman. 

*  Perhaps  I  may  get  there,'  replied  Mr.  Shirley.  *  Are 
you  going  to  a  hotel  ? ' 

'  No ;  Hilda  thinks  it  would  be  tiresome.  We  mean 
to  stay  three  months  between  Rome  and  Naples,  so 
we  are  going  to  take  an  apartment  and  bring  some  of 
our  own  servants  out  with  us.  I  have  no  doubt  we 
could  give  you  a  room  if  you  came,'  he  added. 

Mr.  Shirley  laughed. 

'  What  would  Lady  Redman's  family  say  if  she  extended 


232  CASTING    OF    NETS 

her  hospitality  in  Rome  to  such  a  heretic  as  myself  ? '  he 
replied.  *  No,  Walter ;  many  thanks,  all  the  same,  but 
you  would  more  than  ever  be  supposed  to  be  trying  to 
pervert  your  wife  from  Catholicism  by  exposing  her  to 
my  pernicious  influence.  I  shall  be  extremely  curious 
to  see  the  result  of  your  experiment.  I  insist  upon  call- 
ing it  an  experiment,  though  you  decline  to  see  it  in  that 
light.' 

They  turned  into  a  broad  gravel  walk  which  led  down 
a  gentle  slope,  at  the  foot  of  which  stood  the  gray,  battle- 
mented  old  hall.  The  faint,  red  rays  of  the  winter  sunset 
glanced  on  the  mullioned  windows.  The  foggy  air  had 
cleared  as  evening  approached,  and  a  procession  of  rooks 
was  streaming  across  a  primrose-coloured  sky,  on  their 
way  to  their  homes  in  the  ancient  rookeries  of  Redman's 
Cross.  The  harsh  crow  of  cock  pheasants  challenging 
each  other  before  going  to  roost,  and  blackbirds  chatter- 
ing excitedly  in  the  clumps  of  rhododendrons,  alone  broke 
the  silence  after  Mr.  Shirley's  last  remark.  The  latter 
glanced  at  Lord  Redman,  and  then  his  gaze  wandered 
to  the  picturesque  old  pile  of  buildings  below  them. 
They  passed  through  the  great  gateway  into  the  court- 
yard, and  thence  into  the  entrance-hall,  with  its  trophies 
of  armour  and  windows  of  painted  glass. 

^  I  wonder  very  much,'  he  said  to  himself,  as  a  footman 
took  his  hat  and  walking-stick  from  him  and  helped  him 
off  with  his  overcoat,  ^  what  the  result  of  the  experiment 
will  be ! ' 


CHAPTER  XVI 

LADY  MERTON  hud  received  the  intelligence  that 
Hilda  and  her  liusband  were  coming  to  Rome  for 
the  remainder  of  the  winter  and  spring  with  great  satis- 
faction. She  had  been  not  a  little  mortified  at  the  failure 
of  her  attempts  to  arouse  in  her  grand-daughter  a  proper 
sense  of  her  duties  towards  the  Church,  but  she  consoled 
herself  with  the  reflection  that  at  Rome  she  would 
have  greater  focilities  for  bringing  both  Hilda  and  Lord 
Redman  under  the  influence  of  the  outward  pomp  and 
circumstance  of  Catholicism  by  which  she  herself  was 
so  much  fascinated  and  impressed.  She  would  be  able, 
moreover,  to  surround  them  with  an  atmosphere  of  what 
she  and  her  friend  Mrs.  St.  Leger  described  as  '  Catholic 
piety/  and  with  this  object  in  view  she  had  already 
told  all  her  more  intimate  acquaintances  in  the  Black 
world  that  Lord  and  Lady  Redman  were  about  to  arrive, 
and  had  given  them  to  understand  that  great  advantages 
to  the  cause  of  Catholicism  in  England  were  likely  to  be 
the  result  of  the  \isit  of  so  rich  and  influential  a  peer 
as  Lord  Redman  to  the  Eternal  City  during  the  Holy 
Year  of  Jubilee. 

Notwithstanding  her  recent  experiences,  she  did  not 
hesitate  to  represent  Lord  Redman  to  her  friends  in 
Rome  as  she  had  represented  him  to  those   in  England 


234  CASTING    OF    NETS 

who  had  been  disi:)osed  to  object  to  Miss  Cawarden's 
engagement  to  him  on  the  score  of  his  Protestantism. 
It  was  not  difficult  to  arouse  the  curiosity  and  interest  of 
her  Roman  friends  regarding  the  Redmans,  and  in  this 
Lady  Merton  was  ably  seconded  by  Mrs.  St.  Leger. 
The  latter  was  barely  acquainted  with  Hilda,  whom 
she  had  only  seen  before  her  marriage,  and  Lord  Red- 
man she  had  never  seen  at  all.  Her  ideas  concerning 
him  were  entirely  derived  from  all  that  she  had  heard 
from  Lady  Merton  and  from  his  cousin,  Mary  Russell. 
The  conversation  in  the  Via  Gregoriana,  w^here  I^ady 
Merton  and  Mrs.  St.  Leger  were  installed  in  the  apart- 
ment which  the  former  usually  rented  when  she  came 
to  Rome,  had  frequently  turned  upon  the  Redmans, 
and  Lady  Merton  would  draw  vi\4d  word-pictures  to 
sympathizing  ladies  and  ecclesiastics  of  the  anguish  of 
mind  which  her  grand-daughter  was  undergoing  on  ac- 
count of  her  husband's  reluctance  to  take  the  final  step 
and  join  the  Church. 

'There  can  be  no  doubt,'  she  said,  'that  this  deter- 
mination to  come  to  Rome  is  a  direct  answer  to  our 
prayers  that  Lord  Redman  may  be  brought  nearer  to  the 
Church.  His  wife  is  terribly  anxious  that  all  he  sees 
and  hears  while  here  should  make  a  good  impression 
upon  him.  Her  letters  to  me  are  really  quite  touching, 
poor  thing!' 

Lady  Merton  had  been  giving  one  of  her  periodical 
luncheon  parties,  and  her  guests  were  sitting  in  the 
drawing-room  afterwards  discussing  their  coffee  and  their 
acquaintances. 

'It   is   so   fortunate   that   they  will   see   Rome  under 


CASTING    OF    NETS  23s 

your  auspices,  my  dear  Lady  Merton/  said  Madame  de 
Hoheuthal.  'As  your  dear  Queeu  used  to  say  to  me, 
it  makes  such  a  difference  how  and  with  whom  one  sees 
Rome.' 

*  I  did  not  know  that  the  Queen  luid  ever  been  here/ 
said  a  young  Englishman  who  was  one  of  tlie  party.  He 
had  but  recently  come  to  Rome,  and  was  not  aware  of 
Madame  de  Ilohenthal's  peculiarities. 

'Ah,  well,  monsieur,  perhaps  it  was  not  your  Queen. 
No,  now  I  think  of  it,  it  was  the  Princess  of  Wales.  One 
gets  confused,  you  know.  During  my  official  life  in  your 
country  I  was  so  intimate  with  your  royalties.' 

'  Oh;  said  Lady  Merton,  '  as  to  that,  of  course  I  shall 
do  my  best  to  insure  that  they  shall  see  Rome  properly ; 
not  the  Rome  of  these  miserable  Italians,  but  our  Rome, 
you  know.  They  could  not  come  at  a  better  moment. 
Nobody  could  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  scenes  of  en- 
thusiasm and  devotion  which  we  daily  see  around  us  in 
this  wonderful  year.' 

'I  quite  agree  wdth  you,  Lady  Merton,'  observed  an 
English  monsignore,  taking  a  liberal  pinch  of  snuff  as  he 
spoke.  '  This  year  Rome  belongs  to  the  pilgrims,  not  to 
the  tourists.  It  is  a  wonderful  sight,  a  marvellous  proof 
of  the  power  of  the  Church  to  draw  her  children  from  all 
quarters  of  the  globe.  I  hear  that  the  Protestants  are 
very  much  impressed,  and  no  doubt  Lord  Redman  will 
be  so.     He  is  a  clever  man,  you  say  ? ' 

'Yes,'  answered  Lady  Merton,  'he  is  clever,  but  oh, 
so  helpless !  blown  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,  poor 
fellow !  Like  all  Protestants,  he  lacks  the  stability  which 
only  reliance  on  the  authority  of  the  true  Church  can  give.* 


236  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  If  he  is  a  clever  man/  said  Monsignor  Chester,  blow- 
ing his  nose  loudly  with  a  coloured  silk  pocket-handker- 
chief, *  he  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  proofs  of  the 
Church's  authority  which  he  will  see  all  around  him  in 
Rome.  Of  course  you  will  take  steps  to  procure  him  and 
Lady  Redman  an  audience  of  the  Holy  Father  ? ' 

'  Most  certainly  ! '  replied  Lady  Merton.  ^  I  have  al- 
ready told  the  Maestro  di  Camera  all  about  them  both, 
and  he  has  promised  me  to  arrange  that  matter.  I  am 
most  anxious  that  it  should  be  fully  understood  at  the 
Vatican  how  much  the  conversion  of  a  man  like  Lord 
Redman  would  mean  for  our  cause  in  England.' 

'  Yes,'  said  Monsignor  Chester  bluntly ;  '  English  people 
like  lords.* 

'  The  influence  of  a  prominent  man  like  Lord  Red- 
man on  the  masses  is  naturally  considerable,'  said  Mrs. 
St.  Leger;  Miis  conversion  would  be  followed  by  many 
others.' 

'  And  his  own  soul,'  said  Madame  de  Hohenthal. 
^  Think  of  the  joy  it  will  be  to  dear  Lady  Merton  to 
know  that  she  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  salvation 
to  this  gentleman,  Lord  —  Redman  —  is  it  not  ? ' 

'  Oh,  yes,  his  soul  —  yes,  of  course,'  replied  Lady 
Merton,  a  little  absently. 

'Ah,  madame,'  said  Mrs.  St.  Leger  to  Madame  de 
Hohenthal,  '  Lady  Merton's  object  is  so  wide,  so  far- 
reaching.  She  is  thinking  of  the  good  of  our  holy 
religion  in  a  schismatic  country.  The  salvation  of  an 
individual  soul  is  important  enough,  of  course.  But 
when,  as  in  the  case  of  Lord  Redman,  a  conversion  im- 
plies  the  setting  of  an  example  which  is  sure  to  give 


CASTING    OF    NETS  237 

confidence  to  other  doubting  souls,  and  so  enable  them 
to  imitate  it,  it  becomes  doubly  important.  The  influence 
of  the  nobility  is  so  great  in  England.' 

Lady  Merton  coughed.  Her  converts  were  a  little 
trying  to  her  occasionally ;  for,  though  she  was  largely 
surrounded  by  people  of  Mrs.  St.  Leger's  class,  whose 
piety  was  more  apparent  than  their  good  breeding,  she 
was  what  she  looked,  a  well-born  woman  of  the  world. 
When  her  friend  Mrs.  St.  Leger  talked  of  the  '  aristocracy ' 
or,  as  she  frequently  did,  with  bated  breath,  of  the  ^  Ro- 
man nobility,'  Lady  Merton  felt  uncomfortable  and  would 
try  to  turn  the  conversation. 

^  They  will  be  here  by  the  end  of  the  week,'  she  said. 
*  My  grand-daughter  writes  to  me  that  she  feels  so  thank- 
ful to  think  her  prayers  have,  so  far,  been  answered,  and 
that  she  has  been  able  to  prevail  upon  her  husband  to 
come  to  Rome  during  this  Holy  Year.  Of  course  he 
has  been  here  before,  but  simply  e7i  tourist,  and  before 
the  days  when  he  had  any  leanings  towards  the  Church.' 

'  I  have  heard  Lord  Redman  spoken  of  as  being  an 
absolute  sceptic/  observed  Mousignor  Chester.  '  I  am 
surprised  to  hear  you  say  that  he  has  any  leanings 
towards  Catholicism.' 

Lady  Merton  glanced  at  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  and  then 
smiled  indulgently. 

'  People  always  exaggerate  things,'  she  replied ;  '  so 
many  very  young  men  profess  religious  scepticism.  They 
imagine  that  by  doing  so  they  will  be  considered  inter- 
esting. I  believe  that  at  one  time  Walter  Redman  was 
really  what  is  called  a  free-thinker,  and  that  it  was  not 
a  youthful  j^ose  on  his  part.     He  was  a  decidedly  clever 


238  CASTING    OF    NETS 

young  man,  and  no  doubt  fell  into  bad  hands  at  one  of 
those  horrid  Protestant  universities  —  Cambridge,  I  think 
it  was  —  where  nothing  is  allowed  to  be  true  unless  it 
agrees  with  the  latest  scientific  fad.  By  degrees,  how- 
ever, his  common-sense  has  asserted  itself,  and  he  has 
emancipated  himself  to  a  great  extent  from  his  earlier 
ideas.  Of  course,  there  still  remain  old  prejudices  to 
be  overcome,  and,  I  regret  to  say,  he  still  keeps  up  his 
intercourse  with  some  of  his  University  friends,  whose 
influence  is  probably  holding  him  back.  His  marriage 
with  my  grand-daughter  has,  naturally,  brought  him  into 
closer  contact  with  Catholicism,  and  we  are  convinced 
that  he  is  gradually  becoming  more  and  more  attracted 
towards  the  Church.' 

^  Mixed  marriages  are  a  great  mistake,'  remarked  Mon- 
signor  Chester,  fumbling  in  his  pocket  for  his  snuff'-box. 

Lady  Merton  looked  annoyed  for  an  instant.  Mon- 
signor  Chester  possessed  the  knack  —  a  very  uncommon 
one  with  Roman  ecclesiastics  —  of  invariably  saying  the 
wrong  thing  at  the  wrong  moment.  He  was  a  convert 
himself,  and  had  been  an  Anglican  clergyman  of  pro- 
nounced High  Church  views.  The  garb  of  the  Roman 
priest,  however,  had  never  been  able  to  conceal  the 
parsonic  manner,  while,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  his  English 
and  Protestant  training  and  education,  he  had  never 
been  able  to  acquire  the  suave  and  polished  address 
usual  among  the  higher  grades  of  the  clergy  of  his 
newly-adopted  creed. 

^My  grand-daughter's  marriage  was  one  of  affection,* 
said  Lady  Merton.  '  We  were  all  very  much  opposed 
to  it,  and  it  was  the  first  time  that  one  of  the  Cawarden 


CASTING    OF    NETS  239 

family  had  ever  married  a  Protestant.  Lord  Redman's 
evident  interest  in  the  Clmreh,  liowever,  caused  my 
daughter  to  feel  that  she  might  be  interfering  with  the 
ways  of  Almighty  God  were  slie  to  persist  in  her  refusal 
to  allow  it.  I  must  say  that,  personally,  I  always  con- 
sidered the  engagement  to  be  an  unfortunate  one ;  but 
my  advice  was  not  listened  to.' 

Madame  do  Ilohenthal  leaned  forward  in  her  chair 
with  some  eagerness. 

'Ah!'  she  exclaimed,  '  th<7  are  not  happy  together? 
He  does  not  treat  her  well,  no  doubt.  I  suppose  that 
she  is  persecuted  on  account  of  her  religion ! ' 

Lady  Merton  hesitated  for  a  moment  before  replying. 
Madame  de  Hohenthal's  tongue  had  caused  mischief  in 
more  than  one  European  capital  where  her  late  husband 
had  represented  his  Government  diplomatically ;  and  she 
had  not  laid  aside  with  her  Protestantism  her  capacity 
for  damaging  the  reputations  of  her  acquaintances.  In- 
deed, the  air  of  Rome  being  unusually  favourable  to  the 
development  of  such  a  capacity,  many  little  stories  were 
conceived  and  born  in  Madame  de  Hohenthal's  sitting- 
room  at  the  little  hotel  wiiich  she  patronized  during  her 
winter  residenje  in  the  Eternal  City. 

'It  would  be  too  strong  a  thing  to  assert  that  they 
are  not  happy  together,'  said  Lady  Merton  after  a  pause. 
'  As  I  say,  the  man-iage  was  one  of  affection,'  she  added, 
markinjr  the  tense  of  the  latter  verb  with  the  faintest 
possible  inflexion.  '  Monsignor  Chester  is  quite  right,' 
she  continued,  with  a  little  sigh,  'when  he  says  that 
mixed  marriages  are  a  mistake.  My  grand-daughter 
cannot,  of  course,  be  as  happy  as  we  should  wish  to  see 


240  CASTING    OF    NETS 

her,  when  she  knows  that  her  husband  is  surrounded  by 
friends  and  relations  who  are  striving  to  counteract  her 
influence  over  him.' 

'  Poor  Lady  Redman ! '  murmured  Madame  de  Hohen- 
thal,  whose  face  had  assumed  an  expression  of  keen 
interest  while  Lady  Merton  was  speaking.  ^I  can  sym- 
pathize with  her  so  well.  Ah!  they  are  such  bigoted 
people,  those  Protestants!  I  remember  what  it  was 
when  I  became  a  Catholic.  How  happy  I  am  to  think 
that  they  are  coming  to  Rome!  Here  we  shall  have 
them  in  our  charge,  dear  Lady  Merton.  We  will  take 
care  that  Lord  Redman  falls  into  good  hands,  will  we 
not,  Mrs.  St.  Leger?' 

'Yes,  indeed!'  said  the  latter.  'We  may  hope  that 
the  society  in  which  Lord  and  Lady  Redman  will  find 
themselves  will  have  its  good  influence  on  the  former. 

To  be  in  the  midst  of  good  Catholic  society ' 

'They  know  very  few  people  here,  I  conclude?' 
interrupted  Monsignor  Chester —  ' among  the  Romans, 
I  mean.' 

'Very  few,  I  think,'  replied  Lady  Merton.  'I  met 
that  odious  woman  Princess  Brancaleone  the  other  day 
at  a  tea,  and  she  told  me  that  Lord  Redman  was  a  friend 
of  hers,  and  that  she  was  delighted  to  hear  he  was 
coming,  and  hoped  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  his  wife. 
It  is  so  disagreeable  meeting  those  Quirinal  people,'  she 
added,  'but  I  could  not  avoid  her.  She  came  up  and 
spoke  to  me.' 

Madame  de  Hohenthal  held  up  her  hands  in  horror. 
'Princess    Brancaleone!'    she    exclaimed.      'Oh,    my 
dear  Lady  Merton,  you  nuist  not   let   them  go  to   the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  241 

Talazzo  IMontclupi !  She  is  a  horrid  woman!  There 
are  all  sorts  of  stories  about  licr  first  marriage,  you 
know,  and  how  she  got  her  money.  They  will  meet 
all  the  canaille  of  the  White  party  there,  and  —  oh,  no, 
it  is  certainly  not  the  house  for  a  respectable  young 
married  woman  to  go  to,  is  it,  Mousiguore  ? '  she  added, 
appealing  to  Monsignor  Chester. 

'Certainly  not,'  said  the  latter  in  his  most  abrupt 
manner ;  '  they  are  a  most  mischievous  couple,  the  young 
Prince  and  Princess  Brancalcone.  They  are  Liberals ! ' 
he  concluded,  getting  rather  red,  and  wiping  his  brow 
with  his  pocket-handkerchief. 

'  They  say  that  he  is  secretly  a  Freemason,'  said  Madame 
de  Hohenthal. 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  made  the  sign  of  the  cross. 

*T  shall  certainly  warn  my  grand-daughter  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  Princess  Brancalcone,"  said  Lady 
]\Ierton.  '  I  trust  that  she  will  prevent  her  husband  from 
going  to  the  Palazzo  Montelupi.' 

When  she  and  Mrs.  St.  Leger  were  left  alone  together, 
the  latter  ventured  to  remark  that  Madame  de  Hohenthal 
would  certainly  spread  about  a  report  that  Lord  and  Lady 
Redman  did  not  get  on  well  with  each  other. 

'  I  dare  say  she  will,'  replied  Lady  ^lerton.  '  Poor  dear 
INIadame  de  Hohenthal's  tongue  runs  away  with  her  some- 
times. It  will  do  no  harm  if  she  does  invent  some  story 
about  them ;  and  if  it  should  come  to  Lord  Redman's  ears, 
it  may  make  him  realize  wliat  is  thought  of  his  conduct  in 
trying  to  separate  his  \vife  from  those  of  her  own  faith.' 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  was  silent.  She  had  a  profound  rever- 
ence for  Lady  Mcrton  as  one  who  had  been  the  means  of 

16 


242  CASTING    OF    NETS 

converting  many  souls  to  the  Church ;  and  however  much 
she  might  be  aware  of  the  inaccuracy  of  her  statements 
regarding  the  condition  of  things  between  her  grand- 
daughter and  Lord  Redman,  she  was  quite  convinced  in 
her  own  mind  that,  where  the  making  of  converts  or  the 
advancement  of  the  interests  of  the  Church  was  concerned, 
all  methods  were  lawful. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THROUGH  the  good  offices  of  a  friend  in  the  English 
Embassy,  Walter  Redman  had  secured  the  lease 
of  a  villa  situated  in  the  modern  quarter  of  Rome  for  the 
winter  and  spring  months. 

It  was  tenanted  by  a  diplomatic  couple  who  were  away 
on  leave,  and  as  both  Lord  Redman  and  Hilda  disliked  the 
idea  of  hotel  life  for  so  many  weeks,  they  had  considered 
themselves  fortunate  to  find  a  comfortably  furnished  house 
which  would  hold  themselves  and  their  servants,  and  in 
which  they  could  feel  independent  of  the  tourists  who 
were  crowding  the  hotels  out  of  curiosity  to  witness  the 
medieval  ceremonies  of  the  Anno  Santo. 

The  impression  left  upon  Hilda's  mind  by  the  first  few 
days  after  her  arrival  in  Rome  was  one  of  complete  be- 
wilderment. The  place  seemed  so  small,  and  yet  so  full 
of  vast  and  varied  interests,  that  it  appeared  to  be  well- 
nigh  hopeless  to  decide  as  to  how  to  commence  the  process 
which  she  felt  could  only  be  described  as  one  of  disen- 
tanglement. 

For  the  first  day  or  two  it  was  occupation  enough  to 
drive  about  the  city  and  watch  the  various  nationalities 
with  which  the  streets  were  thronged.  Rome  that  year 
seemed  to  be  indeed  the  mother  of  the  world,  and  the 
mixtures  of  races  to  be  seen  jostling  each  other  in  the 


244  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Corso,  or  watching  the  sunset  from  the  Pincio,  could  only 
be  equalled  by  the  coming  and  going  of  the  peoples  of  the 
earth  crossing  the  Golden  Horn  by  the  famous  bridge  of 
Galata. 

As  a  matter  of  course  the  first  building  that  Hilda 
visited  was  St.  Peter's.  She  and  Walter  drove  down  to 
the  great  basilica  on  the  morning  after  their  arrival.  As 
they  pushed  aside  the  heavy  leathern  curtains  —  the 
'  squash-babies '  of  the  Romans  —  and  entered  the  church, 
her  first  impression  had  been  one  of  awed  admiration. 
She  had  heard  that  the  first  glimpse  of  St.  Peter's  pro- 
voked disappointment,  that  its  immense  size  was  not 
realized  except  upon  better  acquaintance  with  the  mighty 
fabric. 

To  Hilda,  on  the  contrary,  the  imposing  dimensions  of 
the  church  seemed  at  once  to  seize  hold  of  her  imagination, 
and  to  keep  it  spell-bound.  She  almost  wished  afterwards 
that  she  had  turned  and  left  the  building  when  that  one 
first  sense  of  bewildered  admiration  was  fresh  in  her 
mind. 

The  vast  expanse  of  marble  pavement  was  dotted  over 
with  ever-moving  groups  of  human  beings,  the  sound  of 
whose  footsteps  was  as  the  sound  of  the  sea  in  her  ears. 

Broad  rays  of  sunlight  were  streaming  down  through 
the  square  windows  of  the  cupola,  flashing  upon  the 
golden  lamps  burning  round  the  confessional  of  the 
Apostles,  and  falling  here  and  there  upon  the  violet 
robes  of  some  ecclesiastic  as  he  passed  to  or  from  the 
sacristy,  and  made  his  genuflection  before  the  sacred  tomb 
or  opposite  the  great  gates  which  guard  the  altar  of  the 
Sacrament. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  245 

Faintly,  as  though  echoed  from  the  threshold  of  another 
world,  the  sounds  of  chanting  fell  upon  her  ears,  voices  of 
invisible  singers,  now  swelling  into  harmony,  now  soaring 
aloft  in  the  rich,  full  notes  of  a  single  soprano,  the 
strains  of  which  seemed  to  tremble  and  then  dissolve  into 
the  majestic  space  of  the  great  dome  above. 

Walter  Redman,  standing  by  his  wife's  side,  watched 
the  varying  expressions  of  her  face. 

'  You  are  not  disappointed  ? '  he  asked. 

Hilda  drew  a  long  breath. 

*  Disappointed !  No,'  she  replied.  *  It  is  glorious, 
Walter.  Were  you  not  impressed  the  first  time  you  came 
into  St.  Peter's  ? ' 

*  Yes,'  he  said,  *  I  think  that  I  felt  as  you  are  feeling 
now.' 

They  walked  slowly  up  the  nave  of  the  church  together, 
and  the  sound  of  the  chanting  in  the  chapel  on  the  left 
sounded  ever  louder  and  more  triumphant.  High  Mass 
was  being  celebrated.  'Et  credo  in  Unam  Sanctam 
Catholicam  et  Apostolicam  Ecclesiam  ! '  The  words  of  the 
creed  rang  out  clearly,  almost  defiantly,  as  Hilda  and  her 
husband  paused  opposite  the  open  gates  of  the  chapel.  A 
dense  crowd  was  around  them.  Some  few,  the  oldest  and 
the  poorest,  were  kneeling  on  the  marble  pavement,  their 
lips  moving  in  prayer,  and  a  look  of  rapt  devotion  on 
their  faces.  The  majority  were  whispering  and  laughing 
together,  nudging  each  other  to  look  at  some  peculiarity 
of  the  ritual,  or  standing  on  camp-stools  in  order  to  get  a 
better  view. 

*  Come  away  from  these  people,'  said  Hilda,  in  an  under- 
tone, surveying  them  with  a  look  of  mingled  surprise  and 


246  CASTING    OF    NETS 

disgust.  *  Let  us  try  to  get  inside  the  chapel/  she  added ; 
^  it  will  bo  better  there/ 

It  was  no  very  easy  matter  to  push  their  way  gradually 
through  the  throng,  and  by  the  time  they  found  them- 
selves within  the  chapel,  the  choir  in  the  gallery  above 
burst  forth  with  the  opening  strains  of  the  Sanctus, 
Clouds  of  incense  rose  and  hung,  blue  and  wavering  in 
the  sunbeams ;  the  acolytes  and  officiating  priests  grouped 
themselves  in  front  of  the  altar,  preparatory  to  the  conse- 
cration of  the  elements  and  the  elevation  of  the  Host. 

Hilda's  eyes  wandered  round  the  chapel,  and  rested 
upon  the  rows  of  ecclesiastics  seated  in  the  stalls  on 
each  side  of  the  altar,  with  their  purple  cassocks  and 
the  fur  capes  on  their  shoulders.  A  stir  and  rustle  in 
the  crowd  around  her  betokened  the  approach  of  the 
solemn  moments  of  the  Elevation,  but  the  look  of  bored 
indifference  on  the  faces  of  the  Canons  of  St.  Peter's  gave 
place  to  no  expression  of  reverence.  Hilda  noticed,  with 
the  same  sense  of  astonishment  and  distaste  which  she 
had  experienced  at  the  behaviour  of  the  sightseers  in  the 
nave  of  the  church,  that  some  of  the  richly  robed  digni- 
taries were  half  asleep,  others  were  taking  snuff  or  whis- 
pering to  one  another,  while  on  the  countenances  of  all, 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  was  written  the  weariness 
produced  by  a  tiresome  routine,  and  on  some,  she  could 
not  help  thinking,  an  impatient  incredulity. 

After  the  Elevation,  Hilda  and  her  husband  made  an 
attempt  to  leave  the  chapel,  but  the  crowd  had  by  this 
time  closed  up  all  means  of  exit,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  await  the  conclusion  of  the  Mass. 

As  the  ecclesiastics  left,  the  crowd  parted  to  allow 


CASTING    OF    NETS  247 

them  to  pass  through  it.  As  they  came  by,  not  in 
orderly  procession,  but  shuiiiing  carelessly  one  after  the 
other,  Hilda  could  not  help  scanning  their  faces.  It 
was  with  au  undefined  feeling  of  repulsion  that  she  gazed 
upon  the  heavy,  sensual  countenances,  the  unpleasant- 
looking  mouths,  and  the  furtive,  restless  eyes  which  were 
the  distinguishing  features  of  the  majority. 

It  was  with  a  little  sigh  of  relief  that  she  found  herself 
once  more  in  the  broad,  open  space  of  the  nave.  She 
leaned  for  a  while  against  one  of  the  pillars,  and  allowed 
her  gaze  to  wander  round  the  great  temple.  As  she 
looked,  she  became  conscious  that  the  first  impressions 
which  she  had  received  on  entering  the  building  had 
become  less  intense.  Perhaps  her  eyes  had  grown  ac- 
customed to  the  vastuess  around  her.  It  was  certain 
that  she  felt  no  longer  the  same  sensation  of  awe  and 
admiration  which  had  laid  hold  of  her  with  such  force  at 
the  moment  of  her  passing  the  portals  of  the  basilica. 

The  scene  at  the  High  Mass  had  jarred  upon  her.  It 
had  seemed  to  strike  a  false  note  on  what  should  be  one 
complete  harmony  of  religious  feeling.  Hilda  was  glad 
that  her  husband  had  made  no  remark  to  her  as  they 
left  the  chapel.  She  wondered  whether  he,  also,  had 
noticed  the  carelessness  and  want  of  reverence  durincr  the 
Mass. 

But  Walter  said  nothing.  He  stood  by  her  side  and 
watched  with  quiet  attention  the  groups  of  people  pass- 
ing up  and  down  the  nave. 

Presently  they  moved  onwards  towards  the  Confes- 
sional, and  here  Walter  hung  back.  He  knew  that  his 
wife,  as  a  Catholic,  would  wish  to  kneel  before  the  tomb 


248  CASTING    OF    NETS 

of  the  Apostles  on  the  occasion  of  her  first  visit  to  St. 
Peter's.  Hilda  went  forward  alone,  and  joined  the  group 
of  worshippers  kneeling  at  the  white  marble  balustrade 
surrounding  the  steps  which  lead  down  to  the  golden 
gates  of  the  shrine. 

She  knelt  a  few  minutes  in  silent  prayer,  and  as  she 
endeavoured  to  concentrate  her  thoughts,  and  pray  in  a 
spirit  which  should  be  worthy  of  that  holy  place,  she 
glanced  upwards  into  the  great  vault  of  the  cupola.  Why 
was  it,  she  wondered,  that  she  could  not  feel  as  she  wished 
to  feel  ?  She  had  prayed  better,  and  felt  herself  to  be 
nearer  to  God,  in  many  a  little  humble  church  in  England 
—  nay,  in  the  privacy  of  her  own  room  —  than  she  did 
here  in  the  mighty  temple  of  her  faith  —  in  St.  Peter's 
at  Rome.  Her  thoughts  refused  to  submit  themselves 
to  her  will,  and  with  a  vague  feeling  at  once  of  disappoint- 
ment and  of  dissatisfaction  with  herself,  she  rose  from  her 
knees.  She  looked  round  for  Walter,  and  for  a  minute 
or  two  could  not  see  him.  At  last  she  distinguished  him. 
He  was  standing  near  the  supposed  statue  of  St.  Peter, 
watching  the  people  coming  up  and  kissing  its  worn 
bronze  foot.  As  Hilda  came  closer  to  him,  she  was 
struck  with  the  expression  on  his  face.  It  was  not  con- 
tempt or  disapproval  which  she  saw  written  on  his  coun- 
tenance, but  rather  a  look  of  great  reverence.  She  stood 
a  few  paces  from  him,  watching  him  silently. 

A  group  of  pilgrims  who  had  gathered  round  the  statue 
passed  on,  and  following  in  their  wake  came  an  old  peas- 
ant woman,  bent  and  infirm,  leading  or  being  led  by  a 
little  child.  Tremblingly  she  advanced,  and  reaching  up 
her  mouth  to  the  foot  of  the  statue,  kissed  it  with  her 


CASTING    OF    NETS  249 

withered  lips,  and  then  pressed  her  wrinkled  brow  upon 
tlie  cokl  bronze.  Stooping  down,  she  tried  to  lift  the 
child,  but  her  strength  was  unequal  to  the  task.  Then 
Hilda  saw  her  husband  step  forward.  Raising  the  child 
gently  in  his  arms,  he  held  its  little  face  to  the  statue, 
the  old  woman  blessing  him  as  he  did  so.  Turning  round, 
he  saw  Hilda,  and  came  towards  her. 

'  The  little  beggar  could  n't  reach  so  far,'  he  said,  and 
Hilda  smiled  at  him  without  replying. 

Presently  he  looked  inquiringly  at  her.  He  had  ex- 
pected her  to  be  more  enthusiastic  on  the  glories  of  St. 
Peter's,  and  a  glance  at  her  face  told  him  that  something 
was  troubling  her.  The  look  of  reverent  admiration  which 
he  had  seen  on  her  countenance  as  she  came  into  the 
church  had  disappeared,  and  in  its  place  was  one  of  doubt 
and  perplexity. 

'  It  does  not  impress  you  ? '  he  asked  her. 

'  I  do  not  know,'  answered  Hilda ;  ^  it  oppresses  rather 
than  impresses  me,  I  think.     It  is  not  like  a  church.' 

She  gazed  around  and  above  her  as  she  spoke.  There 
seemed  to  her  to  be  no  repose  for  the  eye  in  any  part 
of  the  vast  edifice.  Indeed,  now  that  she  was  able  more 
thoroughly  to  grasp  its  details,  she  realized  that  it  was 
the  eye  which  was  offended  at  every  turn,  and  that  the 
one  redeeming  feature  which  seemed  to  crush  and  absorb 
the  vulgarity  of  the  building  was  the  majesty  of  its  pro- 
portions. Her  gaze  wandered,  seeking  rest  and  finding 
none,  from  the  distorted  statues  in  their  niches  above  the 
nave  to  the  grotesque  and  occasionally  painful  monuments 
to  the  Popes  around  tlie  walls ;  from  the  meretricious 
haldacchlno  above  the  high  altar  to  the  pompous  ugliness 


250  CASTING    OF    NETS 

of  Bernini's  chair  of  St.  Peter  behind  it  at  the  western 
extremity  of  the  basilica. 

^  I  suppose  that  I  cannot  take  it  in/  she  said,  a  little 

wearily  ;    ^  perhaps    a    second   visit '  and   then    she 

stopped,  feeling  in  her  heart  that  she  should  never  re- 
cover the  lost  impression  which  the  first  glimpse  of  the 
interior  of  St.  Peter's  had  made  upon  her.  'Shall  we 
go  ? '  she  continued.  '  I  think  I  have  seen  enough  for 
this  morning.' 

Walter  Redman  assented  readily  enough. 

The  interior  of  St.  Peter's  had  never  possessed  any 
charm  for  him ;  he  regarded  it  as  a  colossal  monu- 
ment to  bad  taste  and  to  arrogance,  both  worldly  and 
spiritual. 

It  was  a  relief  to  both  when  they  emerged  from  the 
portico,  and  stood  under  the  pure,  blue  sky  of  the  heavens. 
The  great  fountains  were  tossing  up  their  waters  to  the 
sunlight  laughing  and  sparkling  upon  them,  and  the 
Piazza  was  thronged  with  carriages  and  pedestrians 
coming  and  going  to  and  from  the  basilica  and  the 
Vatican. 

They  descended  the  steps,  trying  to  distinguish  their 
carriage  among  the  ranks  of  those  drawn  up  in  the  shade 
of  the  Colonnades.  Winged  words  were  flying  between 
a  group  of  French  and  German  pilgrims  as  they  passed. 
The  faces  of  the  disputants  did  not  wear  a  particularly 
holy  expression,  while  '  Cochons  d'Allemands  ! '  from  the 
Frenchmen,  and  some  decidedly  unscriptural  language 
from  the  Teutons  fell  upon  their  ears  as  they  approached 
them. 

A  guardia  politely  invited  the  pilgrims  to  move  on, 


CASTING    OF    NETS  251 

and  some  Romans  who  witnessed  the  little  scene  lanfi^hcd. 
One  of  them  made  some  remark  which  caused  Lord  Red- 
man, who  overheard  it,  to  laiic^h  also. 

^  What  is  it  all  about  ? '  Hilda  asked  him,  for  Italian 
was  an  unknown  tongue  to  her. 

^  Apparently  it  is  about  half  a  franc,'  said  Walter, 
smiling. 

'But  what  did  those  Italians  say  which  made  the 
people  laugh  ? ' 

Walter  hesitated. 

*  Oh,  well,  Romans  arc  very  cynical,  you  know,  es- 
pecially about  their  priests.  One  of  the  pilgrims  had 
dropped  half  a  franc,  and  another,  a  German,  picked  it  up 
and  declared  that  the  coin  was  his.  A  Roman  said  to 
him,  "Take  it  up  to  the  Holy  Father  and  buy  an  indul- 
gence w  ith  it."  Of  course  they  could  n't  understand  him, 
but  their  language  was  decidedly  bad.' 

'  It  was  very  irreverent  of  you  to  laugh,  Walter,'  said 
Hilda. 

*  I  could  n't  help  it,'  replied  Lord  Redman,  looking  at 
his  wife  with  some  contrition  ;  '  it  was  a  typical  Roman 
observation,  and  they  have  a  very  luimorous  way  of  say- 
ing the  most  sarcastic  things.  Pasquino  would  never  be 
at  a  loss  for  something  to  say,  if  he  were  allowed  to  speak 
in  these  days.' 

Walter  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  explain  to  his  wife 
the  bitter  irony  which  was  wrapped  up  in  the  remark 
which  had  caused  so  much  merriment  in  the  crowd.  He 
had  determined  to  leave  her  to  form  her  o\vn  conclusions 
from  her  \isit  to  Rome,  and  not  to  attempt  to  influence 
her  judgment  in  any  way. 


252  CASTING    OF    NETS 

^  What  shall  we  do  this  afternoon  ? '  he  asked,  as  they 
drove  homeward  to  luncheon. 

*  I  thought  that  we  might  leave  some  cards,  and  drive 
into  the  Campagna/  replied  Hilda.  ^You  want  to  call 
upon  Princess  Brancaleone,  and  to  leave  the  letter  which 
Mr.  Shirley  gave  us  to  Monsignor  Martini,'  she  continued. 

*  Yes,'  Walter  answered,  ^  let  us  do  that.  It  is  better 
to  keep  our  sight-seeing  for  the  mornings,  and  a  drive 
in  the  afternoons  will  rest  you.' 

Hilda  looked  up  at  the  clock  on  the  Castle  of  St. 
Angelo  as  the  carriage  turned  to  cross  the  bridge. 

^We  shall  find  my  grandmother  and  Mrs.  St.  Leger 
waiting  for  us,'  she  said.     '  I  did  not  know  it  was  so  late.' 

'  Mrs.  St.  Leger  !     Who  is  she  ? '  asked  Walter. 

*0h,  did  I  not  tell  you?'  exclaimed  Hilda.  'It  was 
very  stupid  of  me  to  forget  to  do  so.  Mrs.  St.  Leger  is 
a  great  friend  of  grandmama's,  and  when  I  asked  the 
latter  to  come  to  luncheon  with  us  to-day,  she  asked  if 
she  might  bring  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  as  she  is  staying  witli 
her.' 

'  Do  you  know  her  ? ' 

Hilda  made  a  little  face. 

'I  have  seen  her  once  or  twice  before  I  married,'  she 
replied.  '  She  became  a  Catholic,  and  she  is  constantly 
with  my  grandmother.  I  don't  think  you  will  like  her, 
Walter.' 

'Probably  not,'  said  the  latter  dryly;  'but  I  don't 
see  how  you  could  have  avoided  asking  her  under  the 
circumstances.' 

When  they  readied  the  villa  in  the  Via  Gaeta,  the 
servant    who    opened    the    door    informed    Hilda    that 


CASTING    OF    NETS  253 

Lady  Merton  and  another  lady  were  waiting  in  the 
drawing-room. 

Whatever  coldness  had  existed  towards  Hilda  and 
her  husband  on  Lady  Merton's  part  was  evidently  to 
be  forgotten  in  Rome,  for  nothing  could  exceed  the 
cordiality  of  her  manner  to  both  of  them.  The  meeting 
between  them  was  rendered  the  easier  inasmuch  as  there 
had  never  been  any  open  hostility  on  either  side.  Indig- 
nant as  Walter  had  been  with  Lady  Merton  at  the  time 
of  his  wife's  illness,  he  had  determined  to  have  no  quarrel 
with  her,  and  he  ;had  therefore  never  enlightened  her  as 
to  what  had  made  him  take  such  decided  measures  for 
preventing  Hilda's  relatives  from  having  any  private 
access  to  her  while  she  was  laid  up.  Lady  Merton, 
indeed,  had  not  the  least  idea  of  the  state  of  nervous 
excitement  in  which  her  grand-daughter  had  been,  and 
still  less  did  she  suspect  that  it  was  Hilda  herself  who 
had  implored  her  husband  to  act  as  he  had  done. 

As  matters  had  turned  out,  Walter  Redman  felt  that 
he  had  reason  to  be  grateful  to  Lady  Merton  rather 
than  otherwise,  since  the  fact  that  he  and  Hilda  no 
longer  felt  that  their  difference  of  opinion  on  religious 
subjects  was  never  to  be  discussed  between  them  was 
entirely  the  result,  albeit  an  unforeseen  one,  of  her 
policy.  The  conversation  at  luncheon  naturally  turned 
upon  Hilda's  first  impressions  of  Rome.  Lady  Merton 
purred  soft  notes  of  approval  when  she  heard  that  they 
had  been  spending  their  morning  at  St.  Peter's. 

'  Of  course,'  she  said  ;  '  it  is  the  first  thing  you  would 
wish  to  see.  One  does  not  feel  in  Rome  until  a  visit 
has  been  paid  to  the  tomb  of  the  Apo.stles.' 


254  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  And  do  tell  me,  Lady  Redman/  said  Mrs.  St.  Leger, 
'  what  did  you  think  of  it  ?  It  is  so  interesting  to  hear 
people's  first  impressions  of  St.  Peter's.' 

Hilda  hesitated.  Looking  across  the  table,  she  met 
her  husband's  eyes  fixed  upon  her,  as  though  he  also 
was  interested  to  hear  her  reply.  The  feeling  that  he 
was  listening  for  it  seemed  to  add  to  the  difficulty  she 
found  in  answering  Mrs.  St.  Leger's  question. 

'  It  is  very  —  large ! '  she  said,  after  a  pause ;  and  as 
the  words  left  her  lips  she  fully  realized  their  weakness. 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  and  Lady  Merton  looked  surprised, 
and  Hilda  fancied  that  her  husband  was  struggling 
with  an  inclination  to  laugh.  It  certainly  was  a  very 
hanal  remark,  she  thought,  and  she  was  glad  when  Mrs. 
St.  Leger's  next  observation  helped  her  to  redeem  it. 

'  Ah,  yes ! '  the  latter  replied.  ^  One  is  absolutely 
bewildered  by  the  immense  size  of  the  church;  over- 
come, too,  by  the  holiness  and  the  sacred  traditions  of 
the  spot.  It  is  only  after  repeated  visits  that  one  is  able 
to  take  in  the  full  beauty  of  St.  Peter's.' 

'Yes,'  exclaimed  Hilda  with  eagerness;  'I  am  quite 
sure  it  must  be  so!  We  cannot  possibly  judge  of  it 
from  a  single  visit.' 

'But  you,'  added  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  turning  to  AValter, 
'have  been  several  times  in  Rome,  have  you  not,  Lord 
Redman?  You  will  be  able  to  point  out  the  wonders 
of  St.  Peter's  to  Lady  Redman.' 

'  I  am  afraid  I  should  be  a  poor  guide,'  replied  Walter 
with  a  smile. 

'Ah,  well,  unluckily  you  are  not  one  of  us,  but 
stiU ' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  255 

Mrs.  St.  Lcgcr  paused  aiul  became  rather  red.  Lord 
Redman  was  looking  at  lier  (juietly,  and  there  was  some- 
tliing  in  his  glance  which  caused  her  to  feel  that  she  was 
taking  a  liberty. 

^  I  am  afraid,'  continued  Walter,  ignoring  her  remark, 
'  that  I  have  nothing  to  add  to  my  wife's  criticism  of 
St.  Peter's  that  you  would  be  likely  to  agree  with.  Ft 
is  certainly  very  large.  That,'  he  added,  a  little  mali- 
ciously, '  is  a  characteristic  which  nobody  can  deny  to  it.' 

'But  you  do  not  admire  it?'  said  Lady  Merton  in 
astonishment. 

'  Honestly,  no,  I  do  not.  Tliere  are  churches  in  Rome 
that  I  admire  far  more  —  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  for 
instance.' 

'But,  surely,  Lord  Redman,  the  sanctity  of  St. 
Peter's '  murmured  Mrs.  St.  Leger. 

'  I  am  not  criticising  its  sanctity,  but  merely  its  artistic 
beauty,'  replied  Walter. 

'  Ah  ! '  said  Lady  Merton.  *  You  must  realize  the  one 
in  order  to  appreciate  the  other,  my  dear  Walter ! ' 

Hilda  hastened  to  change  the  topic  of  conversation, 
and  caused  it  to  flow  into  less  dangerous  channels.  As 
soon  as  luncheon  was  over,  Walter  left  the  ladies  alone 
together,  after  suggesting  to  Hilda  that  the  carriage 
should  be  ordered  at  half-past  two. 

'  How  are  you  going  to  employ  your  afternoon  ? '  asked 
Lady  Merton,  when  they  reached  the  drawing-room  and 
the  servants  had  brought  in  the  coffee. 

'  We  are  going  to  drive  on  the  Campagna,'  replied 
Hilda.  'And  Walter  wants  to  call  upon  one  or  two 
people.  By  the  way,'  she  added,  '  iu  what  part  of  Rome 
is  the  Palazzo  jNIontelupi  ? ' 


256  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'It  is  in  the  old  quarter,  near  the  Capitol/  said  Lady 
Merton. 

'I  suppose  you  know  the  Brancaleones ? '  continued 
Hilda.  '  They  are  friends  of  Walter's,  but  I  have  never 
seen  them.' 

Lady  Merton  drew  herself  up  stiffly. 

'  I  have  the  barest  possible  acquaintance  with  Princess 
Brancaleone.  The  Palazzo  Montelupi  is  not  a  house 
which  loyal  Catholics  ought  to  frequent.' 

'  No,  indeed  ! '  interposed  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  with  a  sigh. 

'Prince  Brancaleone  is  a  traitor/  continued  Lady 
Merton.  '  He  has  thrown  off  his  allegiance  to  his  law- 
ful Sovereign  and  joined  the  Italian  usurpers  of  Rome. 
His  wife  is  not  at  all  a  nice  person,  Hilda,  and  I  am  very 
sorry  to  hear  that  Walter  knows  her.' 

'  But  he  says  she  is  charming  I '  said  Hilda.  *  And  I 
have  heard  many  people  say  the  same  thing.' 

'Plenty  of  men  think  her  charming,'  replied  Lady 
Merton  dryly,  'but  I  do  not  know  that  their  wives 
agree  with  them  on  the  subject.' 

'  She  is  very  handsome,  is  she  not  ? ' 

'  Yes,  undeniably  so,  and  always  beautifully  dressed  — 
one  of  those  women  who  put  on  exactly  the  right  thing 
for  every  occasion.* 

*  A  very  dangerous  woman  ! '  murmured  Mrs.  St.  Leger, 
looking  at  Lady  Redman  out  of  the  corners  of  her  eyes. 

'  In  what  way  dangerous  ?  '  asked  the  latter. 

'  Oh,  my  dear  child  1 '  said  Lady  Merton.  '  These  sol- 
disantes  political  women  are  always  dangerous  when  they 
are  young  and  good-looking.  There  are  even  some  who 
succeed  in  being  so  when   they  are  old.     If  a  woman 


CASTING    OF    NETS  257 

wants  to  keep  a  certain  number  of  men,  and  one  particu- 
lar man,  at  her  feet  without  causing  a  scandal,  she  lias 
only  to  i)retend  to  be  political.  As  a  pose  it  is  safer  than 
the  artistic  or  literary  one.  Artists  and  authors  always 
manage  to  get  their  liaisons  talked  about.  Political 
women,  I  suppose,  have  more  knowledge  of  the  world.' 

*  Is  Princess  Brancaleone  a  political  woman  ? '  asked 
Hilda. 

'  She  has  made  her  house  a  centre  for  the  political  ad- 
venturers of  the  Quirinal  party,'  answered  Lady  Merton, 
Sand  for  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  Church  and  religion 
generally.  But  there  are  many  people  who  say  that  the 
political  salon  is  only  an  ante-chamber  after  all.' 

*  Her  politics  are  not  likely  to  interest  either  Walter  or 
myself,'  said  Hilda  quietly. 

Lady  Merton  looked  a  little  searchingly  at  her  grand- 
daughter. 

'  Of  course  not,'  she  answered.  '  As  a  Catholic,  you 
could  have  only  one  opinion  of  her  political  views.' 

^  But  Princess  Brancaleone  is  a  Catholic  ?  I  thought 
that  she  was  born  a  Carmichael.' 

Lady  INIerton  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

'  All  these  people  pretend  to  be  Catholics,'  she  said, 
'  but  they  are  false  Catholics,  traitors  to  their  religion 
and  to  the  Holy  Father.  Complete  submission,  and 
implicit  obedience  to  the  Vatican  as  representing  the 
seat  of  civil  and  religious  govcmraent,  are  the  marks  of 
a  true  Catholic.  You  will  discover  that  for  yourself 
when  you  have  been  a  short  time  in  Rome  —  will  she 
not,  Emily  ? ' 

*  Indeed  you  will.  Lady  Redman,'  said  Mrs.  St.  Leger, 

17 


258  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  and  I  am  thankful  that  dear  Lady  Merton,  who  knows 
Rome  so  well,  is  here  to  warn  you  against  those  wicked 
people  who  pretend  to  be  Catholics  like  ourselves,  but  who 
are  striving  all  the  time  to  overthrow  our  holy  religion.' 

'  Well,  Hilda/  said  Lady  Merton  solemnly,  ^  I  hope  you 
will  take  my  advice,  for  I  think  that  I  may  fairly  claim  to 
know  Rome  well.  You  must  recollect  that  Walter  is 
not  a  Catholic,  and  he  will  be  unable  to  protect  you  from 
the  contaminating  influences  of  such  people  as  the  Bran- 
caleones.  It  should  be  your  duty,  on  the  other  hand, 
to  protect  him.  You  should  try  your  best  to  ensure  that, 
while  your  husband  is  in  Rome,  he  should  be  thrown 
with  good  Catholics.' 

'  Walter  is  quite  capable  of  taking  care  of  himself,'  re- 
plied Hilda,  smiling.  '  I  should  not  think  of  attempting 
to  influence  his  choice  of  friends,'  she  added  firmly. 

Lady  Merton  drew  herself  up  in  her  arm-chair,  and 
looked  in  astonishment  at  her  grand-daughter,  while  Mrs. 
St.  Leger  cast  her  eyes  up  to  the  ceiling,  whereon  were 
divers  well-developed  cherubs  disporting  themselves  in  a 
state  of  nudity,  tossing  pink  legs  about  among  garlands  and 
rose-coloured  clouds. 

'  I  must  confess  that  I  am  utterly  unable  to  understand 
your  frame  of  mind,  Hilda,'  she  said  severely. 

There  was  an  uncomfortable  pause  after  Lady  Merton's 
remark.  Hilda  wished  tliat  her  husband  had  not  deserted 
her,  for  she  dreaded  lest  Lady  Merton  should  seize  the 
opportunity  of  lecturing  her  upon  the  necessity  of  convert- 
ing him.  Since  her  illness,  however,  her  grandmother  did 
not  appear  to  be  so  formidable  a  person.  The  conscious- 
ness that  she  could  turn  to  Walter  for  advice  and  assist- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  259 

ancc,  and  that  they  were  able  freely  to  talk  to  each  other 
on  matters  of  religious  belief,  seemed  to  have  given  her  the 
strenirth  to  feel  more  or  less  indifferent  to  what  others 
might  think  of  her  conduct  in  not  endeavouring  to  bring 
about  his  conversion  to  Catholicism.  Even  the  super- 
natural fears  which  had  been  so  easily  worked  upon  before 
her  illness  now  seemed  almost  entirely  to  have  vanished. 
She  wondered  that  the  words  of  her  relations,  and  those 
of  the  priest  whom  they  had  deputed  to  reason  with  her, 
should  have  had  the  power  to  terrify  her  so  much.  They 
did  not  care  about  her  husband's  soul  any  more  than  those 
old  Canons  whom  she  had  seen  lolling  in  their  stalls  in 
St.  Peter's  that  morning  cared  about  the  Mass  at  which 
they  were  nominally  assisting.  It  was  the  temporal  wel- 
fare and  influence  of  an  institution  which  they  were  seek- 
ing to  advance,  not  the  spiritual  benefit  of  an  individual. 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  Hilda  saw  the  door 
of  the  drawing-room  open  and  Walter  reappear.  Perhaps 
he  had  returned  to  her  with  the  purpose  of  not  leaving  her 
too  long  alone  with  Lady  Merton  and  the  lady  who,  had 
she  received  any  encouragement,  would  have  talked  relig- 
ion to  him  at  luncheon.  Hilda  noticed  that  he  looked  at 
her  a  little  anxiously  as  he  entered  the  room.  Very  shortly 
after  his  return  to  the  drawing-room  Lady  Merton  rose, 
and,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  St.  liCger,  took  her  departure. 
The  cordiality  of  her  manner  had  somewhat  modified,  and 
Hilda,  who  knew  her  moods,  could  see  that  she  was 
thoroughly  displeased. 

'  A  detestable  woman  ! '  exclaimed  Walter,  as  he  heard 
the  hall-door  close  upon  the  two  ladies. 

*  Which  —  my  grandmother  ? '  asked  Hilda  demurely. 


26o  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Her  husband  laughed. 

*  I  was  alluding  to  the  other/  he  replied. 

'  Mrs.  St.  Leger  ?  I  told  you  that  you  would  not  like 
her.     She  is  supposed  to  be  a  saint.' 

Lord  Redman  laughed  again.  His  wife  amused  him 
considerably  sometimes. 

'  So  I  only  like  the  society  of  sinners/  he  replied ;  *  you 
should  not  say  so,  at  all  events.' 

'  Walter/  said  Hilda  suddenly,  *  is  Princess  Brancaleone 
a  political  woman  ?  ' 

*  Not  that  I  know  of/  replied  her  husband.  '  She  may 
be  so,  perhaps,  for  she  has  a  great  position  here.  But 
why  do  you  ask  ? ' 

^My  grandmother  was  talking  of  her  just  now.  She 
has  been  warning  me  against  her.' 

Walter  Redman  looked  puzzled. 

^  Warning  you  against  her  ? '  he  repeated.  *  Why  on 
earth  should  she  do  that,  I  wonder?  She  is  a  woman 
whom  everybody  knows  and  likes.' 

*  So  I  thought,'  said  Hilda.  *  But  they  both  spoke  of 
her  as  though  she  were  not  a  very  nice  person.' 

*I  think  that  I  understand/  observed  Walter,  after  a 
pause,  as  though  a  sudden  idea  had  struck  him.  *You 
will  soon  make  her  acquaintance,'  he  added,  *  and  then 
you  will  be  able  to  judge  for  yourself.  Perhaps  you  will 
find  that  she  is  less  of  a  politician  than  Lady  Merton.' 

It  was  Hilda's  turn  to  look  puzzled  now,  and  she  was 
about  to  ask  Walter  what  he  meant  when  a  servant  came 
in  to  announce  that  the  carriage  was  waiting,  and  she 
went  upstairs  to  dress  for  her  drive. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

HILDA  aud  her  husband  had  barely  finished  dinner 
tliat  evening  when  Prince  and  Princess  Bran- 
caleone's  cards  were  brought  to  them.  These  were  ac- 
companied by  a  letter  addressed  to  Lady  Redman  and  a 
note  for  Walter,  and  they  were  told  that  a  servant  was 
waiting  for  an  answer. 

On  opening  her  missive,  Hilda  found  a  card  inviting 
her  and  her  husband  to  dinner  at  the  Palazzo  Montelupi 
the  following  evening  at  half-past  eight. 

Walter's  note  was  from  the  Princess  herself  In  it 
she  apologized  for  the  shortness  of  the  invitation,  but 
explained  that  the  evening  for  which  she  had  asked  them 
was  the  one  on  which  she  received,  and  that,  therefore, 
if  Lady  Redman  and  he  would  come,  she  hoped  to  make 
them  acquainted  ^vith  some  of  the  Roman  world. 

W^alter  pushed  the  note  across  the  table  to  his  wife. 

'  Let  us  go,  by  all  means !  '  she  said  when  she  had  read 
it.  '  It  is  very  kind  of  them  asking  us  at  once  to  dine 
with  them,  and  I  am  longing  to  see  the  inside  of  a  great 
Roman  palace.' 

She  wrote  a  formal  acceptance  in  French,  in  which 
language  the  invitation  was  couched,  and  Walter  wrote 
a  note  thanking  Princess  Brancaleone  for  her  kindness 
in  asking  his  wife  and  himself,  and  saying  that  they  should 


262  CASTING    OF    NETS 

both  be  delighted  to  come,  as  he  was  anxious  to  present 
Hilda  to  her. 

Hilda  looked  forward  with  some  curiosity  to  meeting 
Princess  Brancaleone.  She  had  often  heard  of  her  as 
the  beautiful  Mrs.  Vesey  who  had  married  a  prominent 
Roman  magnate,  and,  until  Lady  Merton  and  Mrs.  St. 
Leger  had  represented  her  as  a  person  to  be  avoided,  she 
had  never  heard  anything  but  praise  of  her.  Mr.  Shirley, 
she  remembered,  had  been  enthusiastic  on  the  subject  of 
Princess  Brancaleone  when  he  was  at  Abbotsbury,  and 
Hilda  had  become  sufficiently  acquainted  with  him  to 
know  that  he  was  not  given  to  enthusiasm  where  women 
were  concerned.  She  recollected  that  he  had  declared 
Princess  Brancaleone  to  be  his  ideal  of  a  great  lady  who 
understood  the  responsibilities  of  her  position,  and  that 
the  Prince  was  grand  seigneur  in  the  same  sense  of  the 
term.  She  had  been,  therefore,  considerably  surprised 
at  hearing  so  different  an  account  from  Lady  Merton,  and 
her  curiosity  was  aroused  as  to  why  the  latter  should 
have  so  bad  an  opinion  of  her.  Walter  had  declined  to 
enlighten  her  on  the  subject,  though  she  had  ended  by 
telling  him  that  Lady  Merton  had  solemnly  warned  her 
against  Princess  Brancaleone  as  ^  a  very  dangerous  wo- 
man,' and  had  more  than  hinted  that  the  danger  applied 
to  himself  or  to  any  man  who  might  fall  under  her  influ- 
ence. The  account  of  Lady  Merton's  warning  had  moved 
her  husband  to  laughter,  and  all  that  Hilda  could  induce 
him  to  say  was  that  she  must  judge  of  the  Princess  for 
lierself  when  she  knew  her. 

When  the  hour  came  for  them  to  go  to  the  Palazzo 
Montelupi,  and  they  were   driving  down   the  brilliantly 


CASTING    OF    NETS  263 

lighted  Via  Nazionalc  and  Corso  Vittorio  Eniaiiucle, 
Hilda  confessed  to  feeling  rather  nervous.  It  was  the 
first  time  that  she  had  ever  been  into  foreign  society,  and 
she  was  beset  by  the  fear  of  saying  or  doing  the  wrong 
thing.  Walter  smilingly  reassured  her.  The  only  thing 
which  he  begged  her  to  remember  was,  that  the  man 
who  took  her  in  to  dinner  would  also  offer  her  his  arm 
to  take  her  back  to  the  drawing-room  when  the  meal 
was  over. 

*  So  do  not  look  at  him  as  if  you  thought  he  was  going 
to  commit  an  assault  on  you,  as  most  Englishwomen  who 
are  not  used  to  this  custom  look  at  their  unfortunate  neigh- 
bour under  the  circumstances,'  he  had  added,  laughing. 

Lord  Redman  thought  that  his  wife  had  no  cause  to 
feel  anxious  as  to  her  appearance.  Hilda  was  very  well 
dressed  and  wore  some  beautiful  jewels,  and  she  was 
looking  extremely  pretty. 

The  carriage  turned  out  of  the  main  thoroughfare  into 
a  network  of  narrow  streets,  where  cobblers  and  watch- 
makers were  plying  their  trade,  and  could  be  seen  bend- 
ing over  their  work  by  the  light  of  old-fashioned  oil-lamps. 
Picturesque  figures,  with  mantles  of  green  cloth  and  foxes* 
fur  wrapped  close  around  them  to  keep  out  the  keen 
tramontana  wind,  drew  back  to  avoid  being  run  over, 
and  dark,  handsome  faces  peered  in  at  the  carriage  win- 
dows. Presently  they  drove  into  the  courtyard  of  the 
Palazzo  Montelupi,  and  a  gorgeously  dressed  porter,  silver 
stick  in  hand,  advanced  to  the  carriage  door  and  opened 
it.  As  Hilda  and  her  husband  ascended  the  great  marble 
staircase,  with  its  banks  of  palms  and  bright-coloured 
azaleas  on  each  side,  and  found  themselves  in  the  first 


264  CASTING    OF    NETS 

of  the  long  suite  of  magnificent  rooms  on  the  first  floor  of 
the  palace,  the  former  could  not  help  contrasting  the 
space  and  the  beauty  around  her  with  the  respectable 
dinginess  of  their  own  abode  in  St.  James's  Square.  It 
seemed  to  her  that  a  succession  of  servants  in  splendid 
liveries  had  ushered  them  through  innumerable  apart- 
ments, each  one  more  imposing  than  the  last,  before  they 
were  finally  handed  over  to  the  care  of  a  stately-looking 
personage  in  black,  who  preceded  them  into  a  long  and 
brilliantly-lighted  room  and  announced  their  names. 

Then  Hilda  saw  a  tall,  beautiful  woman  with  dark  hair 
advancing  to  meet  them  with  a  smile  of  welcome  on  her 
face,  and  heard  Walter  saying  : 

*  Let  me  present  my  wife,  Princess.' 

'  I  am  so  pleased ;  it  was  really  kind  of  you  to  come  at 
such  short  notice,  Lady  Redman.  Lodovico,  I  want  to 
present  you  to  Lady  Redman;  you  already  know  Lord 
Redman,  I  think  ? ' 

It  was  a  singularly  soft,  musical  voice,  and  the  English 
was  spoken  with  that  somewhat  slow,  deliberate  intonation 
which  suggested  that  the  Princess  was  more  accustomed 
to  speak  in  other  languages  than  in  her  own  native  tongue. 
After  a  few  more  words  of  cordial  welcome  from  her 
hostess,  Hilda  was  presented  to  all  the  members  of  the 
party  assembled  in  the  room,  and  Prince  Brancaleone  per- 
formed the  same  ceremony  by  Walter.  There  were  some 
sixteen  or  eighteen  guests  besides  themselves,  and  Hilda 
noticed  that  she  and  her  husband  were  the  only  English 
present.  Though  she  did  not  understand  any  Italian,  she 
could,  for  an  Englishwoman,  speak  French  very  fairly 
well,  and  the  conversation  appeared  to  be  conducted  al- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  265 

most  entirely  in  that  language.  Dinner  was  announced 
presently,  and  Prince  lirancaleone  took  in  one  of  the  Am- 
bassadresses to  the  Quirinal,  while  Hilda  found  herself 
placed  by  the  man  who  had  escorted  her,  whose  name  she 
had  vainly  endeavoured  to  catch  when  he  was  introduced, 
on  the  other  side  of  her  host. 

There  was  certainly  no  stiffness  or  formality  about  the 
dinner-parties  at  the  Palazzo  Montelupi,  and  l^rince  Bran- 
caleone  proved  to  be  a  very  pleasant  neighbour.  Hilda 
found  the  rapidity  with  which  he  passed  from  French  to 
English  in  his  conversation  a  little  confusing  at  first,  but 
she  soon  became  used  to  it,  and  there  was  a  general  atmos- 
phere of  ease  and  kindly  hospitality  which  quickly  dispelled 
any  feeling  of  shyness. 

She  was  lost  in  admiration  of  the  beautiful  decorations 
of  the  dining-room,  and  could  hardly  take  her  eyes  off  the 
gorgeous  frescoes  of  the  ceiling  and  the  painted  frieze 
which  ran  round  the  walls  of  the  apartment. 

'  The  ceiling  is  by  Giulio  Romano,'  said  Prince  Branca- 
leone,  in  answer  to  her  inquiries ;  and  Hilda  found  him 
extremely  well-informed  on  the  art  treasures  of  Rome. 
He  gave  her,  moreover,  some  useful  advice  as  to  what  to 
go  to  see,  and  what  to  avoid  going  to  see,  in  the  Eternal 
City. 

After  dinner  Princess  Brancaleone  came  and  sat  down 
by  her.  Hilda  thought  that  she  had  never  met  any  woman 
who  had  made  so  agreeable  an  impression  upon  her  on  a 
first  acquaintanceship,  and  she  could  not  help  wondering 
why  Lady  ^lerton  and  Mrs.  St.  Leger  had  been  so  severe 
in  tlieir  remarks.  On  one  point,  however,  Lady  Merton 
had  certainly  been  right :  Princess  Brancaleone  was  beau- 


266  CASTING    OF    NETS 

tifully  dressed,  and  the  only  jewels  which  she  wore  —  a 
single  rivihre  of  diamonds  round  her  neck  —  were  magnifi- 
cent. They  found  many  friends  in  common  to  talk  about, 
and  particularly  Mr.  Shirley,  for  whom  the  Princess  seemed 
to  have  a  sincere  regard. 

'  I  have  known  him  since  I  was  a  girl,'  she  explained ; 
and  then  she  added  with  a  smile :  ^  Poor  dear  Mr. 
Shirley !  his  bark  is  so  much  worse  than  his  bite.  With 
all  his  scepticism,  there  is  no  one  who  has  a  kinder  heart, 
or  who  does  more  generous  actions.' 

'  You  know  my  grandmother,  Lady  Merton,  do  you 
not  ? '  Hilda  asked  her  presently. 

Princess  Brancaleone  smiled. 

^Very  slightly,'  she  replied.  ^We  meet  very  rarely 
in  the  world,  and,  of  course,  she  would  not  come  here, 
were  I  to  ask  her.' 

'Why  not?' asked  Hilda. 

Her  hostess  looked  surprised. 

'  Well,'  she  answered,  '■  Lady  Merton,  I  have  always 
heard,  is  very  Black,  and  does  not  approve  of  our 
political  opinions.  Like  most  of  our  English  converts, 
she  is  very  extreme  in  her  views.  They  believe  what 
the  priests  and  the  clerical  newspapers  tell  them,  and 
regard  us  Liberals  as  heretics.  They  are  quite  ignorant 
of  all  that  relates  *to  this  country,  of  course,  and  look  at 
everything  through  the  spectacles  of  the  sacristy.' 

'I  see,'  replied  Hilda  thoughtfully.  'I  am  quite 
ignorant  of  this  country  myself,'  she  added,  with  a 
smile,  'but  I  do  not  think  that  I  have  any  prejudices. 
You  are  very  much  interested  in  politics,  are  you  not, 
Princess  ? ' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  267 

Princess  Braiicalconc  lauglicHl  inorrily. 

*  I  ?  •  slic  exclaimed.  *  I  detest  tlieni  !  Lodovico,' 
she  called  to  lier  husband,  who  hai)pened  to  be  'near 
them,  'what  do  you  think — am  I  a  politician?' 

'  Well,'  remarked  the  Prince,  '  if  you  arc,  P]lena,  I  liavc 
never  discovered  it ! ' 

There  was  a  general  laugh  at  his  reply  among  those 
who  liad  overheard  the  Princess's  question. 

'  Now,  I  wonder,'  she  continued,  '  why  you  thouglit 
that,  Lady  Redman.  My  husband  is  in  Parliament,  and 
he  is  keenly  interested  in  politics,  but  I  —  no,  certainly 
not!  they  are  not  a  woman's  province  We  women  are 
better  occupied  in  our  own  sphere  ;  there  is  so  much  for 
us  to  do  in  it,  especially  here  in  Italy.' 

At  this  moment  the  doors  at  the  end  of  the  room 
were  thrown  open,  and  several  people  entered.  The 
Princess  rose  from  the  sofa  on  which  she  and  Hilda 
were  sitting,  and  went  forward  to  receive  them.  After 
this  fresh  visitors  were  constantly  arriving,  and  soon  there 
were  some  fifty  or  sixty  people  scattered  about  the 
rooms,  while  a  general  buzz  of  conversation  pervaded 
them.  Both  the  Princess  and  her  husband  repeatedly 
brought  up  people  and  presented  Hilda  to  them.  She 
was  soon  surrounded  by  a  little  group,  and  new-comers 
instantly  inquired  who  la  belle  dame  Anglaise  with  the 
beautiful  hair  and  the  fine  diamonds  might  be. 

Presently  the  Prince  approached  her,  followed  by  an 
ecclesiastic  dressed  in  the  black  cassock  stitched  with 
red,  and  the  violet  mantle  worn  by  the  monsignori  when 
out  in  the  world. 

'  Madame,'  he  said  to  her  in  French,  '  permit  me  to 


268  CASTING    OF    NETS 

present  to  you  an  old  friend  of  ours,  Monsignor  Martini, 
a  great  admirer  of  your  country.' 

Hilda  rose  from  her  seat,  and  held  out  her  hand  with  a 
smile. 

'  My  husband  and  I  are  bearers  of  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  Monsignor  Martini  from  our  mutual  friend  Mr. 
Shirley,'  she  replied,  smiling. 

Monsignor  Martini  bowed  as  he  shook  hands  with  her. 

*I  must  apologize,'  he  said,  ^for  not  havhig  returned 
Lord  Redman's  visit,  but  I  was  out  of  Rome  until  this 
afternoon,  when  I  found  his  card  and  Mr.  Shirley's 
letter.' 

He  spoke  in  excellent  English,  with  scarcely  a  trace 
of  accent.  Hilda  looked  at  him  with  some  attention, 
and  was  struck  by  his  frank  and  benevolent  expression 
of  countenance.  She  moved  a  little  on  her  sofa  in  order 
to  make  room  for  him,  and  Monsignor  Martini  sat  down 
by  her. 

He  was  a  man  of  middle  height,  with  iron-gray  hair, 
which  was  already  turning  to  white  upon  his  temples. 
Tlie  face  was  one  of  extreme  refinement  —  a  refinement 
which  bore  about  it  the  stamp  of  nature,  and  was  un- 
marred  by  the  traces  of  severity  so  often  visible  in  that 
produced  by  asceticism.  The  mouth  was  gentle  though 
firm,  and  the  heavy,  loose  lips  and  disagreeable  lines 
at  the  corners  of  them,  so  common  to  the  priesthood, 
were  features  altogether  absent  from  it.  Perhaps  Mon- 
signor Martini's  eyes  were  the  most  remarkable  part  of 
his  face,  after  the  gentle  benevolence  of  his  expression. 
They  were  brown  eyes,  deep  and  penetrating,  yet  at 
the   same   time   soft  and   kindly  in   their  glance  —  eyes 


CASTING    OF    NETS  269 

that    inspired   conridence,   and   spoke   of  sympatliy   and 
an  understanding  of  humanity. 

'  And  so,  Lady  llednian,  you  are  in  Rome  for  the  first 
time  ?  '  ho  said,  k)oking  at  Hilda  with  his  steady,  tranquil 
gaze.  'Well,  I  envy  you.  I  am  not  going  to  ask  you 
tiresome  questions  about  your  impressions  of  it.' 

Hilda  smiled. 

'  And  why  not,  Monsignore  ? '  she  asked. 

'Because/  returned  Monsignor  Martini  quietly,  'T  do 
not  care  to  hear  them.  First  impressions  of  Rome  are 
worth  nothing  at  all.' 

Hilda  felt  convinced  that  she  should  like  her  new 
acquaintance.  There  Avas  something  about  him  which 
both  fascinated  and  interested  her. 

*  You  are  a  Catholic,  I  understand,'  he  said  to  her 
presently. 

'  Yes/  replied  Hilda. 

'  But  Lord  Redman  —  he  is  not  so  ?  * 

'No.' 

'  And  you  have  come  to  Rome  to  gain  the  indulgences 
of  the  Anno  Santo,  no  doubt  ?  ' 

'  I  have  come  to  see  Rome.' 

Monsignor  Martini  looked  at  her  somewhat  more 
attentively. 

'  And  you  will  see  it,'  he  replied.  '  Yes/  he  continued, 
almost  as  though  he  were  speaking  to  himself,  'you  will 
see  Rome  in  one  of  her  most  interesting  phases.  Are  you 
medieval  in  your  tastes.  Lady  Redman  ?  ' 

'  I  really  do  not  know/  answered  Hilda,  smiling.  '  Not 
particularly  so,  I  think.' 

'That  is  a  pity,'  remarked  Monsignor  Martini.     'One 


270  CASTING    OF    NETS 

should  have  medieval  tastes  in  order  properly  to  appre- 
ciate Rome  in  the  year  1900.' 

Hilda  glanced  at  him.  It  was  difficult  to  tell  whether 
he  was  speaking  seriously  or  not. 

'  I  have  really  seen  nothing  of  Rome  as  yet,'  she  said. 
'  We  only  arrived  two  days  ago.  Of  course  I  have  been 
to  St.  Peter's,  and  yesterday  afternoon,  after  leaving 
our  letter  for  you,  we  went  for  a  lovely  drive  in  the 
Campagna.' 

Monsignor  Martini's  eyes  lightened. 

'Ah! '  he  said.  '  I  see  that  you  are  wise.  Lady  Redman. 
Most  people  would  have  gone  to  the  Pincio.  i\.nd  what 
do  you  think  of  our  Roman  Campagna  ? ' 

'Is  not  that  a  tiresome  question,  Monsignore?*  asked 
HUda. 

Monsignor  Martini  laughed  —  a  laugh  of  quiet  amuse- 
ment. 

'  A  very  fair  retort,'  he  replied.  '  But  the  Campagna 
is  not  Rome.  It  is  the  work  of  God  —  not  that  of  man. 
I  should  like  to  hear  your  first  impressions  of  it,  for  you 
will  probably  not  have  occasion  to  change  them.' 

'  Well,'  said  Hilda,  '  it  is  beautiful,  but  it  gave  me  an 
impression  of  infinite  sadness.  You  will  laugh  at  me, 
Monsignore,  but  I  felt  surrounded  by  death.' 

'  I  do  not  laugh  at  you  at  all.  You  are  quite  right.  In 
the  Campagna  one  is  surrounded  by  the  dead.  Dead 
civilizations,  vanished  races ' 

'  A  dead  religion.' 

Monsignor  Martini  interrupted  her. 

'  A  dead  religion  ?  Oh  no.  Lady  Redman !  there  you 
are  mistaken.     No  religion  dies.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  271 

Hilda  was  about  to  ask  him  what  lie  meant  when  her 
husband  approaclicd  them. 

'  Walter,'  she  exchiimed,  as,  seeing  her  engaged  in  con- 
versation with  an  ecclesiastic,  he  was  about  to  pass  on, 
'  this  is  Monsignor  Martini.  Let  me  introduce  my  husband 
to  you,  iNIonsignore,*  she  added,  and  the  two  men  shook 
hands  with  each  other. 

*  And  tell  me  about  my  friend  Mr.  Shirley,'  said  Mon- 
signor Martini.  *  Have  you  seen  him  lately  ?  and  is  he 
coming  to  Rome  this  spring?  Ah  !  Lord  Redman,  there 
is  a  man  with  a  head  —  a  head  to  think  and  a  heart  to  feel. 
So  few  people  have  both.' 

'  You  admire  him  so  much  ? '  asked  Walter  Redman, 
looking  at  the  priest  curiously.  '  And  yet,'  he  added,  '  I 
should  have  thought  that  you  would  be  utterly  opposed 
to  his  views,  iNIonsignore.' 

^Monsignor  Martini  twitched  his  violet  silk  mantle  a  little 
impatiently. 

*  I  do  not  care  about  his  ^4ews,'  he  replied ;  ^  they  are 
for  himself,  and  for  those  who  think  as  he  does.  You  ask 
me  why  I  admire  him  ?  Well,  I  admire  him  for  not  pre- 
tending to  believe  in  Christianity  when  he  does  not  really 
do  so.  I  admire  liim,  also,  because  he  is  probably  a  better 
man  without  Christianity  than  he  would  be  with  it.  In 
these  days  such  natures  are  interesting  to  study.' 

'They  arc  not  so  uncommon  as  people  like  to  think,' 
said  W^alter.  '  If  I  may  venture  to  say  so,'  he  added, 
with  a  smile,  *  such  liberal  sentiments  as  those  which  you 
have  just  expressed  are  uncommon,  especially  among  the 
clergy.' 

'  I  must  re-echo  your  own  objection,'  said  Monsignor 


272  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Martini;    'they  are  not  so  uncommon  as  people  like  to 
think.' 

^  The  laity  seldom  hear  them.' 

'Ah!  as  to  that,'  replied  Monsignor  Martini,  with  a 
twinkle  of  suppressed  merriment  in  his  eyes,  'it  is  not 
considered  expedient.  We  do  not  —  what  is  your  English 
proverb  ?  —  wash  our  dirty  linen  in  public' 

Lord  Redman  laughed. 

'  I  suppose,'  he  said,  '  that  you  are  afraid  of  offending 
your  weaker  brethren  ? ' 

'No,'  replied  Monsignor  Martini  dryly.  'We  are 
far  more  afraid,  as  a  rule,  of  offending  our  stronger 
brethren.' 

The  distant  notes  of  stringed  instruments  came  to  their 
ears  at  that  moment,  and  several  people  rose  from  their 
seats  and  moved  into  the  other  rooms. 

'The  Princess  generally  has  music  on  her  Thursday 
evenings,'  said  Monsignor  Martini.  'She  is  very  fond 
of  it,  but  she  often  has  it  out  of  charity,  as  well  as  out 
of  love  for  it.  She  is  very  kind  to  struggling  artists, 
and  gives  them  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in  her 
house.' 

'  What  a  beautiful  woman  she  is  ! '  said  Hilda ;  '  and 
Prince  Brancaleone  also  is  extremely  good-looking.' 

'She  is  one  of  the  most  noble  women  we  have  in 
Rome  ! '  replied  Monsignor  Martini.  '  The  good  slie  has 
done  with  her  money  and  her  great  position  in  a  quiet 
and  sensible  way  is  enormous.  I  wish  that  more  of  our 
women  were  like  her.  Her  husband,  too,  is  worthy  of 
her.  And  now,'  he  added,  '  if  Lady  Redman  will  excuse 
me,  I  am  going  to  listen  to  the  music.     It  is  for  that 


CASTING    OF    NETS  273 

I  conic  licrc  on  Thursday  evenings.  1  am  not  very 
worldly,  I  am  afraid.' 

'  I  hope/  said  llikhi,  '  tiiat  you  will  come  and  dine 
with  us  quietly  some  evening.  It  would  be  such  a 
pleasure  to  us,  would  it  not,  Walter?' 

*  It  would  indeed,  Monsignore,'  added  Lord  Redman 
cordially.  *  To-day  is  Thursday.  Could  you  come  ou 
Saturday  at  halt-past  eight?' 

'  I  should  be  delighted.' 

'I  am  so  glad,'  said  Hilda.  *You  will  not  mind  if 
we  are  alone,  or  nearly  so?  You  see,  we  are  unknown 
people  in  Rome.' 

^  I  shall  enjoy  myself  the  more  if  you  are  quite  alone,' 
replied  Monsiguor  Martini,  smiling.  ^  Ou  Saturday, 
then,  at  half-past  eight ' ;  and,  bowing  over  Hilda's 
extended  hand,  he  left  them  and  made  his  way  towards 
the  room  where  the  music  was  going  on,  into  which 
none  were  supposed  to  enter  who  wished  to  talk ;  for 
Princess  Brancaleone,  notwithstanding  her  British  birth, 
had  better  taste,  and  better  manners  towards  the  artists, 
than  to  tolerate  conversation  in  the  same  room  where 
music  was  being  performed. 


18 


CHAPTER  XIX 

«1V  TO,  Hilda/  said  Lord  Redman  decidedly,  'I'll  be 
JL^  hanged  if  I  '11  go  !  I  did  n't  come  to  Rome  to 
attend  old  ladies'  tea-parties.  The  sight  of  the  women  at 
that  embassy  last  night  curtseying  and  bowing  to  the 
priests,  and  hanging  upon  every  word  tliey  said,  as  though 
they  were  men  inspired,  made  me  feel  sick.' 

'But,  Walter,  grandmamma  will  be  dreadfully 
oflfended.' 

'  Then  she  must  get  over  it,'  returned  Walter  Redman. 
'  I  was  introduced  to  one  tiresome  woman  after  another 
last  night,  chiefly  English  and  all  impossible;  and  the 
men  were  worse  than  the  women.  By  Jove  ! '  he  added, 
drawing  a  long  breath,  '  I  never  saw  such  a  set  of 
bounders  as  the  men!' 

Hilda  laughed  in  spite  of  herself,  though  she  felt  sure 
that  Lady  Merton  would  resent  her  husband's  absence 
from  the  tea-party  which  she  was  giving  that  Saturday 
afternoon,  in  order,  as  she  had  told  her  grand-daughter 
markedly,  to  introduce  her  and  Walter  to  some  of  the 
respectable  Catholic  society  of  the  place.  She  had  sent 
them  cards  for  an  evening  party  given  the  night  before  by 
one  of  the  Ambassadresses  to  the  Holy  See,  who,  she 
declared,  had  expressed  a  great  desire  to  make  their 
acquaintance.     Both  Lord  and  Lady  Redman  had  been 


CASTING    OF    NETS 


275 


quite  ready,  after  the  pleasant  evening  wliicli  tliey  had 
spent  at  the  Pakizzo  Montchipi,  to  essay  the  lihiek  world 
under  Lady  Merton's  winj^.  Tiie  result  had  not  been 
satisfaetory.  The  Uednians  had  found  themselves  in  the 
midst  of  a  soeiety  whieh  had  appeared  to  them  to  be  a 
strange  mixture  of  eeelesiasties  and  English  people  of  the 
middle  class,  with  a  sprinkling  of  Romans  and  of  other 
nationalities.  Neither  Walter  llednuui  nor  Hilda  liked 
being  toadied,  and  the  attentions  of  IMrs.  St.  Leger  and 
her  frieuds,  whose  acquanitancc  she  msisted  on  their 
making,  had  at  first  bored  and  then  annoyed  them. 
Madame  de  Ilohenthal  had  discoursed  to  Walter  of  her 
friendship  with  half  the  well-known  people  of  England, 
without  being  at  all  aware  that  in  some  cases  she  was 
talking  to  him  of  his  near  relatives,  and  of  her  intimacy 
with  English  and  Continental  royalty  generally.  His 
patience  being  at  length  exhausted,  Lord  Redman  had 
told  her  that  for  his  part  he  would  walk  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  to  avoid  meeting  a  royalty,  whereat  she  had  stared 
at  him  with  ill-concealed  astonishment  and  contempt,  and 
had  concluded  that  he  was  a  socialist. 

Lady  Merton  was  in  her  favourite  clement  that  evening. 
She  purred  to  Cardinals  and  dignitaries  of  the  Vatican, 
who  were  among  the  guests  of  the  Ambassadress,  while 
she  received  a  considerable  amount  of  homage  from  the 
English  converts,  and  a  certain  attention  from  the  prom- 
inent Romans  of  the  Black  party,  who  saw  in  her  a  zealous 
disseminator  in  England  of  their  political  ideas.  She 
presented  her  grand-daughter  to  various  Princes  of  the 
Church  and  other  ecclesiastics,  and  also  to  some  of  the 
principal  ladies  of  the  Black  world  in  Rome.     It  was  evi- 


276  CASTING    OF    NETS 

dent  to  Hilda  that  she  and  Walter  were  regarded  with  a 
certain  interest,  but  she  wished  that  some  other  topic  of 
conversation  could  be  found  than  the  Anno  Santo,  the 
pilgrims,  and  the  prescribed  visits  to  the  basilicas  in 
order  to  gain  the  indulgences.  The  ease  and  simplicity 
which  had  been  a  characteristic  of  the  gathering  at 
the  Palazzo  Montelupi  were  altogether  absent,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  everyone  were  acting  a  part,  and 
that  each  one  was  trying  to  outdo  his  or  her  neighbour 
in  orthodoxy. 

The  end  of  it  had  been  that  Walter  had  grown  uncon- 
trollably restive,  and  had  insisted  upon  going  away.  As 
they  drove  homeward  through  the  Piazza  di  Spagna,  and 
up  the  steep  hill  of  the  Quattro  Fontane,  he  had  vowed 
that  he  would  never  go  to  another  Black  entertainment, 
declaring  that  if  Hilda  liked  to  do  so  she  would  have  to 
go  alone,  and  that  he  would  go  to  a  theatre. 

As  for  Lady  Merton's  tea-party,  he  would  not  hear 
of  it.  Hilda  must  go,  of  course,  aud  she  could  tell  him 
how  she  had  enjoyed  herself  when  she  returned. 

And  so  Hilda  went.  She  made  what  excuses  she  could 
for  her  husband,  but  when  she  looked  round  the  room  she 
could  not  blame  him  for  his  decision  to  stop  away.  She 
saw  a  predominant  number  of  her  own  sex,  two  or  three 
English  priests,  and  a  few  men  who,  for  some  reason  or 
other,  were  not  priests. 

'  And  how  do  you  like  Rome  ? '  said  Madame  de  Hohen- 
thal  to  her. 

They  were  all  seated  about  the  tea-tables,  and  Hilda's 
wants  were  being  ministered  to  by  one  of  the  untonsured 
men. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  277 

'I  have  not  been  here  long  enough  to  judge/  whe 
replied. 

^  It  is  such  II  privilege  to  be  in  lloiue  this  year/  said 
Mrs.  St.  Leger,  with  a  sigh. 

'  Hilda/  said  Lady  Merton  from  the  tea-table,  *  we  are 
all  very  nuieh  astonished  to  hear  tliat  you  and  Walter 
dined  with  Prince  and  Princess  Brancaleone  the  other 
night.' 

Hilda  was  conscious  of  many  pairs  of  eyes  being  fixed 
upon  her. 

^  Yes/  she  replied ;  ^  we  had  an  extremely  pleasant 
evening.  What  a  magnificent  house  it  is !  We  have 
nothing  in  London  which  can  the  least  compare  with 
it.     Of  course  you  know  it,  madame  ?  ' 

Madame  de  Hohenthal  shuddered. 

'  I  ?  My  dear  Lady  Redman !  We,  who  trust  that 
we  are  good  Catholics,  do  not  visit  such  people  as 
Prince  and  Princess  Brancaleone  !  You  are  a  stranger 
to  Rome,  and  cannot  be  expected  to  know * 

'A  stranger  may  be  forgiven  for  not  feeling  nmch 
interest  in  political  differences,'  said  Hilda,  smiling. 

*  Nobody  is  a  stranger  in  Rome  who  is  a  Catholic,'  said 
Father  Remington. 

^  So  true  —  so  beautifully  true  I '  murmured  Lady 
Merton.  'I  do  not  think/  she  continued,  ^tliat  you 
know  Father  Remington,  Hilda,  except  of  course  by 
name  as  one  of  our  most  valued  converts.  Father 
Remington  is  preaching  a  series  of  sermons  at  San 
Silvestro  for  English-speaking  Catholics.  But  with 
regard  to  Princess  Brancaleone,  she  is  not  a  person 
whose  set  is  a  very  desirable  one  for  you  to  fall  into.' 


278  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  She  has  done  untold  harm  in  Rome/  said  the  Am- 
bassadress at  whose  house  Hilda  had  been  the  night 
before,  ^  and  not  in  Rome  only,  but  wherever  her  husband 
has  property.' 

*And,  besides,  her  antecedents,'  added  Madame  de 
Hohenthal ;  '  they  are  more  than  questionable.  I  do 
not  mean  as  to  birth,  of  course ;  but  everybody  knows 
that  her  first  husband  was  on  the  point  of  divorcing  her 
when  he  died  by  an  accident,  and  before  he  had  altered 
his  will ;  so  she  got  all  his  money,  after  having  behaved 
disgracefully  to  him.' 

^  But  Lady  Redman  cannot  be  expected  to  understand 
all  these  things,'  observed  Mrs.  St.  Lcgcr. 

'Did  you  know  her  in  England?'  asked  Madame  de 
Montana,  the  Ambassadress. 

^My  husband  has  known  her  for  some  years,'  replied 
Hilda. 

Madame  de  Hohenthal  glanced  significantly  at  Mrs. 
St.  Leger. 

'  She  is  the  sort  of  woman  whom  everybody's  husband 
has  known  for  some  years,'  she  remarked. 

Hilda  coloured,  and  was  about  to  reply.  Then  she 
checked  herself,  and  gave  Madame  de  Hohenthal  a 
haughty  little  stare,  which  the  latter,  being  extremely 
short-sighted,  did  not  see. 

'  I  am  sure,'  said  Lady  Merton  to  the  company  gener- 
ally, '  that  my  grand-daughter  would  not  knowingly  go  to 
anti-Catholic  houses  in  Rome,  and  still  less  would  she 
wish  to  encourage  her  husband  to  do  so.  We  must 
remember  that  Lord  Redman  is  not  as  yet  a  Catholic. 
He  cannot  be  expected  to  understand  the  feeling  with 


CASTING    OF    NETS  279 

which  loyiil  .subjects  of  the  Holy  Fjitlicr  regard  tliose 
who,  like  Prince  Bmncaleoue  and  his  wife,  have  turned 
against  their  hiwful  Sovereign  and  our  holy  religion.' 

*And  yet,'  observed  Hilda  quietly,  *  my  husband  and 
I  met  a  Catholic  priest  among  l^incess  Brancaleouc's 
guests.' 

^A  priest!'  exclaimed  several  of  those  around  her  in 
astonishment.  *  What  priest  could  you  have  met  in 
that  house  ? ' 

*  Lady  Redman  probably  refers  to  Moiisignor  Martini. 
I  believe  that  he  is  a  freciuent  visitor  at  the  Palazzo 
Moutclupi,'  said  Father  llemingtou  in  smooth,  level 
tones. 

Hilda  glanced  at  him,  and  made  a  rapid  mental  com- 
parison betwecu  Mousignor  Martini's  kindly,  intellectual 
countenance,  and  that  of  Father  Remington,  which  was 
not  to  the  advantage  of  the  latter. 

*  Yes,'  she  replied,  '  Monsignor  Martini.  I  thought 
him  a  most  interesting  man.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  he 
is  dining  with  us  to-night.' 

^Monsignor  Martini!'  exclahned  Lady  Merton.  *OIi, 
my  dear  child,  you  do  indeed  require  somebody  at  your 
side  to  advise  you  in  Rome  !  Why,  the  man  is  disgraced 
—  a  suspended  priest  ! ' 

'Pardon  me,  dear  Lady  Merton,'  said  Father  Rem- 
ington, '  but  Monsignor  Martini  is  not  suspended  a 
divinis ;  he  is  forbidden  to  preach  in  the  diocese  of 
Rome  on  account  of  his  subversive  doctrine  and  Liberal 
tendencies.' 

*  It  is  almost  the  same  thing,'  replied  Lady  Merton. 
'He  turned  his  church  into  a  sort  of  political  meeting- 


28o  CASTING    OF    NETS 

house,  and  insulted  his  congregation  by  asking  them  to 
pray  for  tlie  Italian  monarchy  —  here  in  Rome ! ' 

^  Ah ! '  said  Madame  de  Hohenthal.  ^  If  it  were  only 
his  politics  which  were  open  to  objection  ! ' 

'He  is  certainly  not  a  person  of  very  good  repute,' 
remarked  Father  Remington ;  '  but  he  has  powerful 
friends  at  the  Vatican,  otherwise  he  would  not  have 
been  let  off  so  easily.' 

'  You  see,  Lady  Redman,  the  sort  of  priest  whom 
you  meet  at  the  Palazzo  Montelupi/  said  Mrs.  St. 
Leger. 

'  Yes,  Emily,'  said  Lady  Merton,  '  you  are  quite  right. 
A  priest  who  had  any  sense  of  respect  for  his  sacred  office 
would  not  be  seen  at  Princess  Brancaleone's  receptions. 
Monsignor  Martini  is  very  badly  looked  upon  in  Rome, 
as  any  one  of  us  could  have  told  you  had  you  made  in- 
quiries about  him  before  asking  him  to  dine  with  you.' 

Hilda  did  not  reply,  but  sat  looking  from  one  to  the 
other  of  Lady  Merton's  guests  with  a  feeling  of  disgust  in 
her  heart.  She  had  only  been  a  few  days  in  Rome,  but 
already  she  was  beginning  dimly  to  understand  that 
Catholicism  here  did  not  mean  quite  the  same  thing  as 
in  England.  She  was  vaguely  conscious  of  the  existence 
of  an  element  at  Rome  which,  if  it  existed  at  all  in  Eng- 
lish Roman  Catholicism,  was  carefully  kept  in  the  back- 
ground, whereas  here  it  appeared  to  occupy  the  primary 
position,  and  to  relegate  religion  to  a  secondary  place. 
The  want  of  charity  among  her  co-religionists  surprised 
her,  while  the  readiness  to  attack  the  moral  characters  of 
those  from  whom  they  differed  shocked  and  offended  her. 

'  I  hope/  said  ]Mrs.  St.  Leger  to  her,  '  that  Lord  Red- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  281 

man  is  impressed  by  all  he  is  seeing  at  Rome.  Of  course 
you  will  take  him  to  witness  the  extraordinary  scenes  of 
piety  at  the  basilicas  ?  How  earnestly  you  must  be  pray- 
ing that  he  may  receive  the  grace  to  discern  the  truth ! 
You  know,'  she  continued  in  an  undertone,  'Father 
Remington  has  such  a  marvellous  influence  with  men. 
He  has  brought  so  many  young  men  into  the  Church  ; 
it  is  his  particular  gift.  It  would  be  such  a  good  thing 
if  he  and  Lord  Redman  could  be  thrown  together.  Do 
not  think  me  presuming,  dear  Lady  Redman,  but  we  all 
take  so  much  interest  in  your  happiness,  for  your  dear 
grandmother's  sake  as  well  as  for  your  own.' 

'And  my  husband,'  asked   Hilda— 'are  you  not   in- 
terested in  his  conversion  for  his  sake,  Mrs.  St.  Leger  ? 
It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  a  matter  which  should  affect 
him  more  than  anybody  else.* 
Mrs.  St.  Leger  cast  down  her  eyes. 
'Oh,  of  course,'  she  replied,  and  then  she  lookc»l  at 
Hilda  a  little   doubtfully,  as   though  uncertain  whether 
the   latter's  words  did  not  contain  some  sarcasm.      'Of 
course,  Lord  Redman's  soul  is  our  first  thought,  but  we 
all  feel  so  much  sympathy  for  you.     Now,  Father  Rem- 
inoion   is   wonderful   in   these   cases.     If  your   husband 
would  only  confide  his  difficulties  to  him,  I  am  sure  that 
he  would   not  repent   having  done  so.     He  understands 
men  so  well ;  in  fact,  he  does  not  like  confessing  women. 
Do,  dear  Lady  Redman,  make  the  experiment,  and  invite 
Father  Reminp^ton  to  your  house.* 

'Thank  you,  Mrs.  St.  Leger,'  replied  Hilda  coldly. 
'  You  are  vcit  kind  to  take  so  much  interest  in  us  both  ; 
but  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  experimenting   upon  my 


282  CASTING    OF    NETS 

husband ;  and,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  do  not  feel  in  need 
of  any  sympathy.' 

Mrs.  St.  Leger  looked  shocked. 

^  Oh,  my  dear  Lady  Redman ! '  she  began. 

Hilda  rose  from  her  chair  and  crossed  the  room  to 
where  Lady  Merton  was  sitting  talking  to  Madame  de 
Hohenthal  and  Father  Remington. 

^  Surely  you  are  not  going  to  leave  us,  Hilda  ? '  ex- 
claimed Lady  Merton.  *  I  am  expecting  several  more 
people.  Monsignor  Chester  promised  to  come,  and  Prin- 
cess Castelnuovo  and  her  daughters.  She  is  a  delightful 
person.  The  Castelnuovo  are  a  great  Roman  house,  and, 
unlike  the  Brancaleone,  they  have  remained  loyal  to  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff.' 

'  Thank  you,  but  I  really  must  go,'  replied  Hilda.  She 
felt  that  a  little  more  of  Mrs.  St.  Leger  and  Madame  de 
Hohenthal  would  cause  her  to  lose  her  temper. 

'  Poor  thing ! '  said  Madame  de  Hohenthal,  when  the 
door  of  the  drawing-room  had  closed  upon  Lady  Redman. 

'  She  is  very  brave  about  it,'  said  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  '  but 
it  must  be  a  terrible  trial  to  her.' 

^  It  is  a  great  misfortune  that  they  have  come  across 
Monsignor  Martini,'  observed  Father  Remington.  'I  re- 
gard him  as  a  most  dangerous  man.  He  is  one  of  those 
misguided  spirits  who,  as  Mivart  did,  attempt  to  reconcile 
Catholic  doctrine  with  the  exercise  of  private  judgment. 
The  end  of  such  men  is  always  the  same ;  but  how  many 
others  do  they  not  drag  down  with  them  to  everlasting 
misery ! ' 

'  Ah ! '  sighed  Lady  Merton  ;  '  how  many,  indeed  ! ' 

'  It  is  a  pity,'  said  Madame  de  Hohenthal,  ^  that  Lady 


CASTING    OF    NETS  283 

Redman  docs  not  sccni  to  understand  what  a  dangerous 
friend  such  a  woman  as  Princess  Hrancaleonc  is  for  a 
young  man  like  lier  husband.  I  must  confess  I  feel  very 
sorry  for  her  when  I  think  that  Lord  Redman  will  have 
every  facility  here  in  Rome  for  resuming  what  is,  no 
doubt,  an  old  flirtation.  Perhaps,  if  she  could  be  made 
to  see  the  matter  in  this  light,  jealousy  would  make  her 
avoid  the  Brancaleone  set,  and  her  husband  would  be 
thrown  more  with  Catholics.  What  do  you  think,  dear 
Lady  Merton?' 

'  Possibly,'  replied  the  latter.  ^  But  we  have  no  grounds 
for  saying  that  anything  more  than  a  mere  accjuaintance- 
ship  ever  existed  between  Lord  Redman  and  Princess 
Brancaleone.' 

'  If  it  is  not  true,  so  much  the  better,'  returned  Madame 
de  Hohcnthal.  *  There  surely  can  be  no  harm  in  making 
use  of  Lady  Redman's  affection  for  her  husband  in  order 
to  protect  him  against  a  very  mischievous  entourage  — 
do  you  think  so,  Father  Remington  ? ' 

'  Considering  the  ultimate  aim  in  view/  replied  Father 
Remington  slowly,  '  and  the  fact  that  Lord  Redman's 
conversion  to  the  Church  would  be  imperilled  by  intimacy 
with  Liberals  like  Prince  and  Princess  Brancaleone  and 
the  party  by  which  they  are  surrounded,  I  should  say. 
Certainly  not.  ]\Iadamc  de  Hohcnthal  regards  the  case 
from  a  diplomatic  point  of  view.  If  diplomacy  is  some- 
times necessary  in  worldly  matters,  it  is  surely  permissible 
to  employ  it  when  great  spiritual  interests  are  at  stake.' 

'  Exactly ! '  said  Madame  de  Ilohentiial. 

'  But  how  do  you  propose  to  arouse  in  her  a  dislike 
to  Princess  Brancaleone  ? '  asked  Lady  Merton. 


284  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Madame  de  Hohenthal  smiled. 

'  It  should  not  be  difficult/  she  replied,  ^  as  Lady  Red- 
man is  so  devoted  to  her  husband.  A  word  here,  and  a 
word  there,  and  doubts  will  arise  in  her  mind,  the  more 
easily  as  Princess  Brancaleone  is  a  good-looking  woman.' 

'But,'  objected  Mrs.  St.  Leger,  'if  there  is  no  truth  in 
it  all,  Lady  Redman  will  not  care.' 

'  Probably  not ;  but  Lord  Redman  will  care.  He  will 
avoid  the  Palazzo  Montelupi  in  order  to  show  his  wife  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  story,  and  the  same  end  will  have 
been  gained.' 

'  Ah ! '  said  Father  Remington,  smiling.  '  One  sees  that 
Madame  de  Hohenthal  has  had  a  diplomatic  training.' 


CHAPTER  XX 

BOTH  Hilda  and  licr  Imsband  found  tliat  the  favour- 
able impression  which  IMonsignor  Martini  had  made 
upon  them  increased  on  their  becoming  better  acquainted 
with  him.  Notwithstanding  Lady  Merton's  remonstrances 
with  her  grand-daughter,  he  was  their  constant  companion 
in  their  visits  to  the  churches,  galleries,  and  antiquities  of 
Rome.  The  fund  of  information  which  he  possessed,  his 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  art  treasures  of  the  Eternal 
City,  and  his  knowledge  of  classic  and  medieval  Rome, 
caused  him  to  be  a  most  useful  guide,  while  the  breadth  of 
his  mental  \ision  and  a  certain  quiet  sense  of  humour  made 
his  companionship  at  once  instructive  and  amusing.  Walter 
Redman  and  he  rapidly  became  great  friends,  and  found  in 
each  other  a  common  bond  of  sympathy  with,  and  interest 
in,  the  social  problems  of  life. 

As  Mr.  Shirley  had  said  was  the  case,  Monsignor 
Martini  had  travelled  much.  His  knowledge  of  England 
and  the  English  character  was  as  remarkable  as  his  com- 
plete command  of  the  English  tongue,  and  his  Italian 
quickness  of  perception,  coupled  with  a  considerable  ele- 
ment of  that  spirit  of  satire  which  has  ever  been  engrained 
in  the  Roman  nature,  often  added  a  pungency  to  his  obser- 
vations which  Walter  was  very  capable  (jf  appreciating. 


286  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Hilda  regarded  the  increasing  intimacy  between  her 
husband  and  Monsignor  Martini  with  secret  satisfaction. 
Hitherto  she  had  observed  that  it  was  sufficient  for  a  man 
to  belong  to  the  clergy  of  any  denomination  for  Walter  to 
shut  himself  up  in  an  impenetrable  reserve  when  in  his 
company,  and  to  assume  a  courteous  indifference  to  spirit- 
ual matters  which  she  knew  he  was  very  far  from  feeling. 
It  was  this  indifference  which  Father  Galsworthy  had  so 
much  deplored,  and  which  he  had  truly  described  as  the 
most  unassailable  form  of  Protestantism. 

Since  she  had  been  able  freely  to  talk  to  him  on  such 
subjects,  she  had  more  than  once  expostulated  with  him 
on  this  attitude,  which,  she  had  frankly  told  him,  was  both 
an  unfair  and  narrow-minded  one.  He  should  at  least 
hear  what  the  men  from  whom  he  differed  had  to  say  in 
support  of  their  own  doctrines  and  systems.  Walter  as- 
sured her  that  he  had  not  assumed  it  without  cause  or 
provocation.  He  had  often,  he  told  her,  attempted  to  dis- 
cuss religious  difficulties  with  ecclesiastics,  both  Catholic 
and  Protestant,  but  the  result  had  not  been  satisfactory. 
They  had  invariably  entrenched  themselves  behind  dogma, 
and  when  this  entrenchment  was  no  longer  defensible, 
they  had  retreated  and  raised  up  another,  and  called  it  the 
Holy  Ghost.  From  the  shelter  of  this  last  position  argu- 
ments were  no  longer  necessary.  Assertions  were  employed 
instead,  and  discussion  became  impossible. 

Hilda  was  obliged  to  confess  to  herself  that  Walter  was 
not  altogether  misstating  the  facts  of  the  situation,  and 
she  found  it  hard  to  reply  to  the  objection. 

As  the  weeks  passed  in  Rome,  she  realized  more  and 
more  clearly  that  were  her  husband  to  see  much  of  Lady 


CASTING    OF    NETS  287 

Merton  and  the  set  by  wliicli  the  hitter  was  surrounded, 
his  prejudices  a<j;ainst  dogmatic  religion  generally,  and 
Catholicism  in  particular,  would  inevitably  become  stronger 
than  ever.  Her  own  faith,  moreover,  had  been  severely 
tried  by  much  tliat  she  had  seen  and  heard  in  Rome.  Re- 
garding Lady  Re(bnan  as  one  of  themselves,  the  Catholics 
whom  she  met  in  the  houses  of  Lady  Merton  and  her 
friends  had  not  considered  it  to  be  necessary  to  moderate 
their  opinions  in  her  presence.  Indeed,  they  had  talked 
before  her  with  the  object  of  demonstrating  that  the 
Church  in  Italy  was  persecuted,  and  that  nobody  could 
honestly  claim  to  be  a  Catholic  who  did  not  protest  against 
the  existing  form  of  government.  It  was  evident  to  Hilda 
that  religion  at  the  centre  of  Catholicism  was  a  mere 
question  of  party  politics,  and  that  the  cnvj,  hatred,  and 
uncharitableness  to  be  found  in  all  political  arenas  existed 
in  their  most  pronounced  and  virulent  forms  among  the 
political  faction  in  Rome  which  carried  on  its  campaign  in 
the  name  of  Christ. 

She  had  spoken  both  to  Monsignor  Martini  and  to  Prin- 
cess Brancaleone  on  the  subject.  A  mutual  friendship  had 
sprung  up  between  the  latter  and  herself,  and  the  more 
intimate  Hilda  became  with  the  Princess,  the  more  indig- 
nant she  felt  wdien  she  heard  the  ill-natured  innuendos 
which  her  Black  acquaintances  were  never  weary  of  mak- 
ing: concerning:  her  and  her  husband. 

The  whole  object  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  seemed  to 
be  to  promote  the  well-being  and  progress  of  their  less 
fortunate  fellow-creatures.  Far  from  hearing  religion 
treated  with  contempt  and  derision,  as  she  had  been  as- 
sured was  the  case  in  the  Palazzo  Montelupi,  she  could 


288  CASTING    OF    NETS 

not  help  noticing  that  a  much  greater  reverence  and  re- 
spect was  paid  to  it  by  her  White  friends  than  by  her 
Black  ones.  It  was  less  talked  about,  perhaps,  but  sacred 
things  were  not  alluded  to  with  the  careless  irreverence 
which  not  unfrequently  startled  and  shocked  her  when 
proceeding  from  ecclesiastics  and  from  those  who  professed 
tlie  greatest  devotion  to  the  Church.  Superstitious  obser- 
vances and  manifest  impostures  were  honestly  condemned 
by  those  whom  she  heard  designated  as  traitors  and  bad 
Catholics  by  the  devotees  whom  she  met  in  such  houses  as 
Lady  Merton's.  Their  degrading  influence  on  the  lower 
orders  was  sorrowfully  admitted  and  deplored ;  they  were 
not  dismissed  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  and  a  cynical 
admission  that  the  mob  must  believe  in  something,  and 
that  the  shrines  where  such  impostures  were  practised 
brought  money  to  the  coffers  of  the  Church ;  or,  worse 
still,  declared  with  hypocritical  insistence  to  be  holy 
miracles  by  those  who  privately  scoffed  at  them. 

Hilda  had  poured  forth  some  of  her  perplexities,  and 
some  of  her  disillusions,  into  Princess  Brancaleone's  ears ; 
and  the  latter  had  gazed  at  her  with  a  quiet  smile  on  the 
beautiful  face  which  looked  so  happy  and  peaceful,  and 
yet,  Hilda  thought,  as  if  its  owner  had  known  sorrow  and 
unhappiness  in  the  past. 

'  You  are  learning  the  meaning  of  our  Roman  proverb, 
"The  nearer  the  Church,  the  further  from  God,"'  the 
Princess  had  said  to  her.  '  I  liad  to  learn  it  also  when 
I  became  a  Roman  by  marriage.  We  are  pagans  here. 
It  is  only  when  it  gets  far  away  from  the  influences  of 
the  Vatican,  with  its  miasma  of  worldly  intrigue  and 
ambitions,  that  Catholicism   becomes  a  spiritual  power. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  289 

Ask  Consignor  IMartini;  Jic  is  a  priest,  and  a  good 
man.  He  knows  Kunie  as  few  men  know  it,  and  he 
remains  a  C'atholie  priest.  A  weaker  man  than  he  would 
have  left  the  Chureh/ 

In  the  course  of  their  excursions  together  about  the 
city,  and  expeditions  into  the  Campagna  and  the  Alban 
Hills,  Hilda  had  many  conversations  with  Consignor 
Martini.  At  first  she  had  rather  avoided  any  mention 
of  religion  to  him,  thinking  that  it  would  bore  her 
husband  or  cause  him  to  suspect  that  she  and  the  priest 
were  talking  at  him. 

It  was  Walter  himself,  however,  who  appeared  anxious 
to  hear  Monsignor  Martini's  views,  and  that  he  should 
be  so  was  a  proof  to  his  wife  that  he  regarded  them 
as  worthy  of  attention.  She  desired  nothing  better  than 
that  he  should  listen  to  the  ideas  of  an  enlightened  and 
broad-minded  man  who  was  at  the  same  time  a  priest  of 
the  Roman  Church,  and  the  fact  that  Monsignor  Martini 
had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Vatican  did  not  weigh 
with  her  so  greatly  as  it  would  have  done  before  her  visit 
to  Rome.  That  Walter  would  ever  become  a  Catholic 
she  had  ceased  to  hope ;  but  it  might  be  that  a  man  like 
Monsignor  Martini,  with  his  broad  sympathies  and  faith 
in  the  spirit  of  Christianity  rather  than  in  the  letter  of 
dogmatic  teaching,  would  open  out  to  him  a  way  to  that 
reconciliation  between  his  reason  and  some  settled  form 
of  religious  belief  and  trust  of  which  she  was  convinced 
that  her  husband  stood  more  in  need  than  he  was  con- 
scious of  being. 

It  was  the  first  week  of  April,  and  spring  was  rushing 
with  great  strides  over  the  land,  as  spring  in  Italy  does. 

19 


290  CASTING    OF    NETS 

The  very  air  felt  tingling  and  quivering  with  the  Spirit  of 
Life.  The  billowy  green  plains  of  the  Roman  Campagna 
were  sweet  with  the  scent  of  wild  flowers,  starred  with 
jonquils,  or  clothed  here  and  there  as  with  drifts  of  newly- 
fallen  snow,  where  patches  of  delicate  narcissi  gleamed 
white  in  the  hollows  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  broken 
banks.  The  ghostly  asphodel  sighed  and  rustled  as  the 
light  breeze  passed  over  it,  as  though  whispering  a  mes- 
sage to  the  dead,  and  to  the  forgotten  gods  of  the  past. 
In  every  spot  where  man  had  spared  trees  or  left  a  thicket 
a  nightingale  trilled,  and  overhead,  from  somewhere  far 
up  in  the  turquoise-coloured  sky,  came  floating  earthwards 
the  ceaseless  song  of  larks. 

Walter  and  Hilda  had  spent  the  day  at  Nerai,  and 
wandering  among  the  chestnut  and  oak  woods  of  Gen- 
zano.  They  had  left  Rome  early  that  morning,  and 
Monsignor  Martini  accompanied  them.  The  latter  was 
always  ready  to  join  them  on  an  expedition  into  the 
country.  The  love  of  nature  was  another  taste  which 
he  shared  in  common  with  Walter  Redman,  and  one 
which  had  been  the  means  of  drawing  the  two  more 
closely  together.  The  Redmans  often  thought  that  he 
talked  more  freely  when  he  had  left  the  walls  of  Rome 
behind  him. 

The  three  were  sitting  beneath  a  group  of  ancient 
olive-trees,  whence  they  could  see  the  sun  sinking  slowly 
downwards  to  the  silver  line  of  the  Mediterranean  glitter- 
ing in  the  west,  and  the  purple  shadows  creeping  across 
the  plain  to  where  the  cupola  of  St.  Peter's  rose  through 
the  golden  haze,  showing  where  Rome  lay.  From  the 
vineyards  and  orchards  on   the  slopes  below  came  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  291 

voices  of  the  peasants,  singing  as  they  worked  the  mourn- 
ful Romancsco  songs,  with  their  pathetic  minor  cadences 
suggestive  of  Eastern  origin. 

'  I  think,'  said  Lord  Redman,  *  that  one  of  the  pleasant- 
est  things  in  Rome  is  being  able  to  get  out  of  it' 

Monsignor  Martini  smiled. 

'That  is  rather  what  you  call  a  bull,  is  it  not?'  he 
replied  ;  '  but  I  quite  agree  with  you,  and  so  did  tlie  old 
Romans.  Their  descendants,'  he  added,  ^as  a  rule  do 
not  love  the  country.' 

^  You  are  an  exception,  Monsignore,'  said  Hilda. 

'  It  is  the  old  paganism  coming  out  in  him,'  observed 
her  husband,  smiling.  '  Its  spirit  is  too  strong  to  be 
conquered,  even  by  the  Church.' 

'  The  Church  has,  very  wisely,  never  attempted  to  con- 
quer it,'  replied  Monsignor  Martini.  '  In  this  country  we 
arc  all  pagans  at  heart,'  he  continued,  'and  the  Church 
assimilates  our  paganism,  and  seeks  to  direct  it  into 
deeper  and  purer  channels.  If  Christianity  would  hon- 
estly admit  its  debt  to  paganism,  there  would  be  fewer 
incredulous  Christians  in  the  world.' 

Hilda  turned  and  looked  at  him  earnestly. 

*  Oh,'  she  exclaimed,  ^  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  that ; 
it  explains  so  many  things  in  Rome  which  have ' 

'  Distressed  you,'  interrupted  Monsignor  Martini  gently, 
as  she  paused.  '  I  have  known  many  Catholics  who  have 
been  distressed  at  what  they  see  in  this  Italy  of  ours,  and 
many  Protestants  who  have  been  scandalized.  You,  Lady 
Redman,  are  one  of  the  former.  You  have  been  more 
perplexed  than  edified  by  what  you  have  seen  in  Rome, 
have  you  not  ? ' 


292  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  Yes/  answered  Hilda  simply ;  '  but  how  do  you  know, 
Monsignore  ? ' 

'  Your  face  is  not  a  very  hard  one  to  read,'  he  replied, 
^  and  as  to  your  perplexity,  it  is  as  natural  as  the  disgust 
of  the  Protestants.  You  do  not  understand  our  paganism, 
that  is  all.' 

^  May  I  speak  plainly  ? '  asked  Hilda. 

'  We  are  not  in  Rome,'  said  Monsignor  Martini,  look- 
ing beyond  her  to  where  in  the  far  distance  the  sun  was 
shining  on  the  golden  cross  of  St.  Peter's. 

'  Well,'  returned  Hilda,  *  it  is  a  shock  to  find  that 
paganism  is  not  dead.  It  seems  to  me  that  one  is  re- 
minded of  it  at  every  turn.' 

Monsignor  Martini  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

'  Pan  never  died,'  he  said.  ^  Some  foolish  people  have 
said  and  thought  that  he  did ;  but  it  is  not  true.  He 
and  the  gods  live  on.     Does  that  shock  you  so  much  ? ' 

^  The  superstition  shocks  me ;  it  all  seems  to  •  be  so 
material,'  said  Hilda.  ^  One  cannot  help  wondering 
whether  the  uneducated  people  do  not  lose  sight  of  the 
truth  when  it  is  surrounded  by  so  much  symbolism.' 

*  They  are  superstitious  —  grossly  superstitious,'  an- 
swered Monsignor  Martini,  ^  but  in  all  superstition  there 
is  a  far-off  whisper  of  truth.  Our  paganism  should  not 
shock  you.  Remember  that  the  Roman  Church  is  the 
residuary  legatee  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  that  she 
has  given  civilization  to  the  world.  What  would  you 
give  us.  Lord  Redman,'  he  added,  turning  suddenly  to 
the  latter,  '  instead  of  our  superstitions  1 ' 

Walter  had  been  listening  attentively  to  the  conver- 
sation between  his  wife  and  the  ecclesiastic.     It  was  the 


CASTING    OF    NETS  293 

first  time  that  he  had  heard  Hilda  remark  upon  the  im- 
pressions whieh  her  visits  to  the  lloman  Churehes  had 
left  upon  her  mind,  and  her  words  had  eoniirmed  his 
suspicions  that  these  impressions  had  not  been  entirely 
satisfactory. 

^I  cannot  argue  the  matter  with  you,  Monsignore,'  he 
said  after  a  pause. 

*  And  why  not?     Because  I  am  a  priest,  I  suppose  ! ' 

*  Indirectly,  yes.  One  cannot  discuss  the  gods  with 
a  creator  of  God.' 

Monsignor  Martini's  eyes  contracted  a  little,  and  then 
the  expression  of  a  great  reverence  overspread  his  features. 

*  Ah  ! '  he  replied  in  a  low  tone.  *  That  is  a  mystery 
into  which  I,  a  priest,  dare  not  seek  to  penetrate.  The 
Church  has  willed  that  we  should  accept  a  material  as 
well  as  a  spiritual  interpretation  of  it.  Why  do  you 
introduce  it  into  our  present  discussion.  Lord  Redman  ? ' 

He  looked  round  him  uneasily  as  he  spoke,  though  the 
three  were  alone  together  under  the  olive-trees.  The 
cuckoos  were  calling  to  each  other  in  the  woods  above 
them,  the  cicale  shrilled  at  their  feet,  and  Rome  was  far 
away,  yonder  where  the  haze  was  denser,  and  only  the 
great  dome,  poised  between  heaven  and  earth,  marked 
the  site  of  the  Eternal  City. 

Walter  Redman  raised  himself  into  a  sitting  posture, 
his  back  against  one  of  the  gnarled,  moss-covered  stems 
of  the  olives. 

^  I  did  not  introduce  it,'  he  said,  looking  at  the  priest. 
'  It  introduces  itself  into  any  discussion  upon  your  creed. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  To  you,  and  to  those  like 
you,  Monsignore,  it  is  given  to  work  a  stupendous  miracle 


294  CASTING    OF    NETS 

—  a  thing  before  which  the  human  imagination  reels 
and  shrinks  back  awe-stricken.  What  can  the  old  gods 
be  to  such  as  you,  who,  by  speaking  certain  words,  and 
making  certain  signs,  can  hold  in  the  hollow  of  your 
hand  the  flesh  and  the  blood  of  the  Creator  of  the 
universe  ? ' 

'It  is  a  mystery,'  repeated  Monsignor   Martini;  'and 
the  words  of  Christ  but  veil  some  deeper  mystery  still 

—  the  Mystery  of  Life.  Were  the  corn  god  and  the  wine 
god  not  worshipped  and  sacrificed  here  where  we  are 
sitting?  Did  Christ  speak  a  new  thing,  or  did  He  not 
rather  set  His  seal  upon  a  hidden  truth  which  is  as  old 
as  the  world  itself?  jS'o,  Lord  Redman  !  The  old  gods 
are  dear  to  me  inasmuch  as  they  prefigure  those  eternal 
truths  of  which  the  Catholic  Church  of  to-day  is  the  de- 
pository. The  ancient  faiths  had  their  divine  element, 
though  they  lacked  a  Christ.  We  Latins  have  grafted 
the  rose  of  Christianity  on  the  briar  of  Paganism,  but  the 
stock  is  the  same.' 

'But  surely,'  interposed  Hilda,  'you  would  not  com- 
pare the  two  systems  ? ' 

'No,'  replied  Monsignor  Martini,  'I  would  not,  so  far 
as  the  good  efi*ect  which  they  have  had  on  mankind  is 
concerned,  for  there  can  be  no  comparison.  Christianity, 
when  true  to  itself,  has  a  more  ennobling  influence  on 
human  nature  than  the  purest  forms  of  paganism  ever 
exercised.  But  our  Christianity  is  not  true  to  itself  It 
is  of  Caesar,  not  of  Christ.  That  is  why  you  find  your- 
self perplexed  in  Rome,  Lady  Redman ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  why  you  should  be  shocked.' 

'  It  is  so  diflferent  with  us  in  England.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  295 

*  Of  course  it  is.  Your  Eiiglisli  Catholicism  is  Koiiiau 
only  in  name.  Here  it  is  Roman  in  reality.  It  can  no 
more  rid  itself  of  its  pagan  elements  than  the  grafted  rose 
can  rid  itself  of  its  briar  stock.  A  political  Christianity 
has  succeeded  to  a  political  Paganism,  that  is  all.  Leo 
XIII.  has  succeeded  to  the  Cicsars.* 

'  Then  you  do  not  consider  Christianity  to  be  true  to 
itself  in  Rome  ? '  asked  Walter. 

Monsignor  JMartini  paused  for  a  moment. 

'  Was  Paganism  true  to  itself  in  Rome  ?  '  he  remarked 
presently.  *  It  degenerated  into  a  purely  political  religion. 
The  ancient  truths,  or  semi-truths,  were  lost  sight  of  in 
political  struggles.  Only  the  superstitions  remained  among 
the  vulgar.  Christianity  came  and  collected  the  debris, 
working  them  into  her  wider  and  deeper  truths.' 

'  And  now  ? ' 

'  Now  Christianity  in  this  country,  and  in  all  Latin 
countries,  is  going  through  the  same  phase  as  its  pre- 
cursor. The  Roman  Emperors  created  new  deities  in 
order  to  conceal  the  weakness  of  the  older  ones,  and  to 
maintain  their  own  authority.  The  Roman  Pontiffs  create 
new  dogmas  and  people  heaven  with  new  inhabitants  for 
the  same  reason.  And  yet,'  continued  Monsignor  Martini, 
as  if  to  himself,  '  amid  all  the  ambition  and  the  worldli- 
ness,  behind  all  the  symbolism  and  the  superstition,  there 
shines  the  light  of  a  Divine  truth  which  even  the  theo- 
logians have  been  unable  wholly  to  extinguish.' 

'  And  it  is  that  light  which  makes  you  cling  to  the 
Church  ? '  said  Lord  Redman,  looking  at  him  curiously. 

'  Yes  ;  I  do  not  wish  to  go  out  into  the  darkness,' 
replied  Monsignor  Tvlartini. 


296  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'But  the  Church  may  drive  you  into  it,  Monsignore,' 
observed  Walter,  smiling. 

'  What  do  you  call  "  the  Church  "  ? ' 

'Surely  you  admit  but  one  —  the  body  to  which  you 
belong,  and  whose  priest  you  arc  ?  I  always  understood 
that  the  chief  credential  of  the  Roman  Church  was  the 
unity  of  faith  to  be  found  among  her  members.* 

'  Yes,'  interrupted  Hilda ;  '  and  that  is  what  perplexes 
me  at  Rome,  Monsignore.  Is  it  possible  that  highly 
educated  ecclesiastics,  and  cultured  men  and  women, 
can  believe  in  the  religion  of  the  people  ?  And  if  they 
do  not  believe  in  it,  why  do  they  tolerate  it,  and  wliy 
does  the  Church  encourage  what  appears  to  be  a  con- 
tinuation of  paganism  ?  Is  there  one  religion  for  the 
rich  and  another  for  the  poor  ? ' 

]\Ionsignor  Martini  sighed. 

'  Unity  of  Faith  is  a  misleading  term.  Unity  of  alle- 
giance would  better  express  the  truth.  There  never  has 
been  Unity  of  Faith  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles  down- 
wards. I  am  acquainted  with  Catholic  priests,  here  in 
Rome,  who  all  but  deny  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  who 
altogether  deny  such  dogmas  as  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion and  Papal  Infallibility.  I  know  men  and  women 
who  are  devoted  Christians,  and  who  utterly  repudiate 
the  dogma  of  Transubstantiation.  They  are  not  true 
Catholics,  you  say  —  and  the  Church  says  so  likewise. 
But  the  Church  does  not  cast  them  out  for  what  they 
believe  or  disbelieve,  so  long  as  they  do  not  oblige  her 
to  do  so.  Do  you  suppose  that  Rome  is  not  clever 
enough  to  know  her  own  weakness  ?  If  you  go  among 
our  lower  orders,  you  will  find  the  same  divergence  of 


CASTING    OF    NETS  297 

fiiith.  Many  believe  with  uiireusoiiin;^  enthusiasm  all 
that  the  Church  teaches,  and  more.  It  is  not  so  long 
ago  since  thousands  thronged  a  church  in  the  centre  of 
Rome  because  a  woman  declared  that  a  picture  in  that 
church  had  moved  its  eyes.  Do  you  suppose  that  these 
were  all  Catholics  in  the  Vatican's  sense  of  the  term? 
I  think  that  if  you  had  questioned  a  dozen  of  those 
people  you  would  not  have  found  three  who  agreed  as  to 
their  belief,  and  you  might  very  easily  have  failed  to  find 
one  who  could  explain  to  you  why  he  was  a  Catholic. 
There  is  as  much  difference  of  religious  opinion  in  the 
Roman  Church  as  in  any  other  spiritual  body,  and  the 
Roman  Church  is  perfectly  aware  of  the  fact.' 

^  But  why,  if' there  are  men  and  women  in  all  classes, 
and  even  ecclesiastics  whose  reason  and  intelligence  cause 
them  to  protest  against  certain  dogmas  and  irrational 
doctrines,  does  the  Church  crucify  some  and  affect  to 
ignore  the  majority  ?  '  asked  Walter. 

Monsignor  JNIartini  smiled. 

'My  dear  Lord  Redman,'  he  replied,  'in  Rome  you 
may  think  what  you  please  —  you  may  even  speak  your 
thoughts  aloud,  so  long  as  you  do  not  do  so  in  the  pulpit. 
But  you  must  not  commit  them  to  print.  That  will  not 
surprise  you,  probably.' 

'  But  it  does  surprise  me,'  said  Hilda. 

'  Xo  doubt,  Lady  Redman ;  you  are  an  English 
Catholic,  and  you  cannot  yet  realize  that,  in  Rome, 
politics  take  the  precedence  of  religion.  Your  husband 
will  tell  you  that  a  (jovernment  does  not  much  care 
what  the  individual  opinions  of  its  supporters  may  be 
so  long  as  the  latter  vote  for  it.     That  is  the  policy  of 


298  CASTING    OF    NETS 

the  Vatican.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  Palatine  in  the 
days  of  our  predecessors.  We  know  that,  in  pagan 
times,  every  thinking  man  had  a  religion  of  his  own  — 
the  gods  were  for  the  populace,  which  got  what  truth 
out  of  them  it  could,  and,  no  doubt,  to  countless  in- 
dividuals it  was  given  to  extract  much  truth.  Unless 
a  cult  were  suspected  of  being  inimical  to  the  State,  it 
was  ignored  by  the  authorities.  So  in  the  Rome  of 
to-day,  dogmas  and  doctrines  are  dealt  out  with  a  free 
hand  to  the  multitude ;  superstitions,  revived  from  ancient 
times,  are  encouraged  and  bear  financial  fruit  at  a  hundred 
shrines  of  the  Madonna  and  the  Saints,  as  they  did  of  old 
at  those  of  the  goddesses  and  the  gods.  Disbelief  and 
dissent  there  may  be,  and  disgust  among  the  better 
educated  and  the  honest,  but  all  will  be  tolerated  except 
the  publishing  of  it.' 

*And  the  people  —  those  among  the  multitude  who 
never  find  the  truth  concealed  amidst  the  superstition  — 
in  what  are  they  better  than  their  pagan  ancestors?' 
asked  Hilda. 

'  In  nothing,  probably,'  said  her  husband. 

'  In  much  ! '  returned  Monsignor  Martini  hastily.  ^  The 
Church  has  taught  them,  amongst  much  superstition,  a 
belief  in  the  future  life.  The  uneducated  Christian  has 
a  sense  of  personal  responsibility  to  himself  and  to  his 
fellows  which  the  uneducated  pagan  could  seldom,  if 
ever,  have  possessed.' 

'Yes,'  said  Walter  thoughtfully,  'that  is  probably 
true.' 

'It  is  indisputably  true,'  replied  Monsignor  Martini, 
fixing  his   soft   brown   eyes   upon   him.     'No   man   can 


CASTING    OF    NETS  299 

have  a  proper  sense  of  his  rerti)onsibility  in  this  world, 
or  of  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  unless  he  believes  in 
a  future  state ;  and,  exeept  througli  the  medium  of  the 
Chureh,  how  can  he  arrive  at  a  clear  understanding  of 
that  state  ? ' 

*  You  speak  as  a  Catholic  priest,'  said  Walter. 

'  No  ;  I  speak  as  a  Christian.  You  asked  me  a  few 
minutes  ago  what  I  called  the  Chureh,  and  I  did  not 
answer  your  question.  You  assume  that,  because  I  am  a 
priest,  I  admit  no  Churcli  outside  the  Roman  comnmnion 
to  be  a  true  Church.' 

'  That  is  what  the  Roman  Cliurch  asserts,'  said  Walter. 

'  The  Roman  Church,'  replied  ^lonsignor  Martini  slowly, 
^  asserts  many  things.  For  me  there  is  only  one  Church  — 
that  is  perfectly  true.  But  for  me,  again,  every  human 
being  who  accepts  the  teaching  of  Christ  belongs  to  that 
Church.  "Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  }Jy  Father 
that  is  in  Heaven,  he  is  i\Iy  brotiier,  and  sister,  and 
mother."^  There  is  but  one  true  Church,  and  of  that 
all  are  members  who,  in  their  different  ways,  and  accord- 
ing to  their  different  lights,  are  scrWng  their  fellow- 
creatures  for  the  love  of  God.' 

Walter  Redman  looked  across  the  great  plain  which  lay 
beneath  them.  The  sun  was  sinking  down  to  the  sea,  and 
all  the  western  sky  was  aflame.  A  little  later  the  Ave 
Maria  ^vould  ring  from  the  churclies,  and  the  peasants 
would  leave  their  fields  and  vineyards  and  come  up  to 
the  villages,  for  the  twilight  is  short  in  Italy,  and  when 
once  the  sunset  glow  has  faded,  night  sinks  swiftly  over 
the  land. 

1  Monsignor  Martini  quotes  from  the  Douai  ti-anslation  of  the  Vulgate. 


300  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  I  beg  your  pardon,  Monsignore/  he  said,  turning 
suddenly  to  the  priest.     ^I  misjudged  you.' 

Monsignor  Martini  smiled. 

^  Did  you  ?     In  what  way,  Lord  Redman  ? '  he  asked. 

'  I  thought  that,  as  a  priest,  you  would  not  acknowledge 
liberty  of  thought  on  questions  of  dogmatic  belief 

Monsignor  Martini  rose  from  his  seat  beneath  the 
olive-tree. 

'  Dogma  ! '  he  said,  a  little  impatiently.  ^  We  have  too 
much  dogma  and  too  little  faith.  Do  you  not  think  that 
there  are  many  of  us  who  realize  this  and  would  say  so,  if 
we  dared  ? ' 

'Then  you  would  imply  that  a  man  may  be  a  Chris- 
tian and  yet  not  belong  to  any  Church  ? '  said  Walter. 
'And  you  would  consider  that  man  to  be  as  good  a 
Christian  \n  the  sight  of  God  as  though  he  were  a 
Catholic  ? ' 

'Most  assuredly.' 

'But  he  must  believe  in  the  great  dogmas  of  Chris- 
tianity ? ' 

'He  must  believe  and  accept  the  teaching  of  Christ. 
Dogmas  were  evolved  from  that  teaching,  but  some  of 
them  have  little  to  do  with  it.  Come,  Lord  Redman,' 
added  Monsignor  Martini,  'we  should  be  returning  to 
Albano.  The  sun  has  set,  and  it  will  be  dark  long  before 
we  reach  Rome.' 

They  had  taken  a  little  carriage  for  the  day  in  Albano, 
intending  to  drive  back  from  the  latter  place  to  Rome  in 
the  landau  which  Walter  had  hired  for  the  months  he  and 
Hilda  were  going  to  pass  there. 

'  I  will  walk  on  into  Genzano  and  find  our  driver,'  said 


CASTING    OF    NETS  301 

Lord  Redman  to  liis  wife,  '  if  you  and  Mousignor  Martini 
will  follow  me.' 

Hilda  watched  his  tall  figure  striding  away  down  the 
white  road. 

*  I  have  never  heard  ray  husband  talk  to  any  ecclesiastic 
as  he  does  to  you,  Monsigiioro/  she  said  presently.  '  I 
am  so  very  glad  that  he  should  do  so.  He  always  de- 
clares that  he  has  no  religion,  you  know,  but  it  is  not 
true.' 

'  Nobody  could  be  much  in  Lord  Redman's  company  and 
believe  that  he  has  no  religion/  replied  Monsignor  Martini. 
*  He  is  one  of  the  many  people  whom  dogma  has  driven 
into  a  feigned  indifference.' 

Hilda  looked  at  him  earnestly. 

'  Do  you  really  believe  that  one  form  of  religion  is  as 
true  as  another  in  the  sight  of  God  ?  * 

*  I  believe  that  God  does  not  inquire  whether  we  are 
Romans,  or  Greeks,  or  Anglicans/  said  Monsignor  Martini, 
with  a  smile.  ^Your  husband  will  never  be  a  Catholic, 
Lady  Redman,'  he  added.  '  I  have  had  many  conversa- 
tions with  him.  He  cannot  believe  all  that  would  be  re- 
quired of  him  as  a  convert.  I  do  not  think  you  could 
expect  him  to  do  so,  neither  should  you  allow  the  fact  to 
distress  you.' 

^  It  does  not  distress  me/  replied  Hilda. 

Monsignor  Martini  directed  a  keen  glance  at  her.  He 
was  about  to  reply  when  a  little  carriage  came  round  a 
bend  in  the  road.  Walter  had  met  it  coming  in  search  of 
them,  as  they  were  nearly  an  hour  later  than  the  time  fixed 
upon  to  rejoin  it  at  Gcnzano. 

'Are   you   going   to   the  Canonization    in    St.  Peter's, 


302  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Monsignore  ? '  asked  Walter,  as  they  were  rattling  over  the 
rough-paved  road  leading  to  Albano. 

Monsignor  Martini  shook  his  head. 

^  No/  he  said.  '  I  should  not  apply  for  a  ticket.  It 
would  certainly  be  refused  me.  I  might,  I  believe,  insist 
upon  taking  my  proper  place  in  the  Papal  procession, 
but '  and  here  he  paused  significantly. 

^  I  wonder/  said  Hilda,  ^  whether  you  would  come  with 
us  ?  We  have  three  tickets  which  Cardinal  Macchi  gave 
us.  It  would  be  so  interesting  to  have  you  with  us  to 
explain  the  ceremony.' 

'I  will  come  with  pleasure,'  said  Monsignor  Martini, 
after  hesitating  for  a  moment  or  two.  ^  It  is  a  veiy  curi- 
ous ceremony/  he  added,  '  an  interesting  study  of  human 
nature,  and  an  imposing  spectacle.  You  will  feel  how 
greatly  we  are  still  under  the  influence  of  paganism.  In- 
stead of  a  Roman  Emperor  creating  a  minor  deity,  you  will 
see  the  Roman  Pontiff  creating  a  saint.' 

'At  any  rate  you  will  come  with  us?'  said  Walter. 
'  I  am  not  fond  of  ecclesiastical  functions,'  he  added, 
'as  you  have  discovered.  But  it  will  be  interesting  to 
see  how  saints  are  made.  I  am  told  by  a  French 
friend  of  mine  that  the  French  candidate  for  celestial 
honours  is  a  decidedly  political  candidate.  Is  this  so, 
Monsignore  ? ' 

Monsignor  Martini  laughed. 

'What  is  the  advantage  of  possessing  the  keys  of 
heaven  if  the  Vatican  cannot  use  them  to  oblige  a 
friend?'  he  replied  enigmatically. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

ONE  afternoon,  ;i  few  days  after  their  excursion 
among  the  Alban  Hills,  Hilda  was  writing  letters 
in  the  drawing-room  of  the  villa  in  the  Via  Gaeta,  while 
Walter  Redman  was  reading  by  the  windows  which 
opened  into  the  little  garden  partly  surrounding  the 
house.  The  weather,  for  so  late  in  the  si)ring,  was 
unprecedentedly  bad,  as,  indeed,  it  had  been  all  the  year. 
The  Romans  grumbled  at  the  Anno  Santo,  which,  they 
declared,  was  the  cause  of  all  the  rain  and  the  sclrocco 
which  had  spoilt  the  beautiful  Roman  spring.  Nothing 
ever  prospered  in  a  Holy  Year,  they  averred,  and  it  would 
be  well  if  some  ^reat  disaster  did  not  befall  Rome  and 
Italy  during  its  course. 

Walter  had  just  laid  aside  his  book,  and  had  proposed 
a  walk  in  spite  of  the  weather,  when  a  footman  whom 
they  had  brought  with  them  from  Abbotsbury  entered 
the  room. 

'  Mr.  Russell  wants  to  see  you,  my  lord,'  lie  said. 

'Mr.  Russell!'  exclaimed  Walter,  in  astonishment. 
'What  ]\rr.  Russell?     Not  the  Rector?' 

'Yes,  my  lord  —  the  Rector.  I  have  shown  him  into 
your  lordshi})'s  sitting-room.' 

'  Show  him  in  here  at  once,'  said  Walter.  '  What 
brings  him  to  Rome,  I  wonder?'  he  added  as  the  man 


304  CASTING    OF    NETS 

left  the  room.  ^Did  you  know  anything  of  their  coming, 
Hilda?' 

*No/  answered  the  latter;  'I  am  amazed.  I  have 
never  heard  from  Mary  since  we  left  England.  I  have 
written  to  her,  but  she  has  never  replied.  I  wonder  if 
she  is  with  him.' 

The  door  opened,  and  the  servant  announced  Mr. 
Russell. 

'  Why,  Russell,'  said  Walter,  '  this  is  a  surprise.  When 
did  you  arrive  in  Rome  ? ' 

^  Is  Mary  here  ? '  asked  Hilda. 

They  advanced  to  meet  him  with  outstretched  hands 
of  welcome,  but  a  look  on  the  Rector's  face  caused  them 
to  pause  hesitatingly.  An  expression  of  mental  anguish 
was  reflected  on  Mr.  Russell's  usually  calm  and  contented 
countenance. 

^  Mary ! '  exclaimed  Hilda.  '  Something  has  happened 
to  her,  Mr.  Russell  ?  Is  she  ill  ?  I  have  been  expecting 
to  hear  from  her  for  so  long.' 

Mr.  Russell  turned  from  her  abruptly. 

*  Lord  Redman,'  he  said,  and  his  voice  trembled  with  a 
strongly-repressed  emotion,  *  I  understood  that  you  were 
alone.     I  did  not  wish  to  intrude  upon  Lady  Redman.' 

He  spoke  with  a  cold,  studied  politeness,  which 
caused  Walter  and  his  wife  to  look  at  each  other  with 
astonishment. 

'I  will  leave  you  and  my  husband  alone  together,' 
Hilda  said,  a  little  stiffly.  ^I  was  afraid  that  something 
had  occurred  to  distress  you,  and  could  only  think  that 
perhaps  Mary  was  ill.  However,  as  it  is  only  business 
which  has  brought  you  here ' 


CASTING     OK     Nl/rS  305 

Mr.  Russell  iiitcrniptcd  her. 

'  Plciisc  rciiKiiii,  L;uly  KtMlinan,'  he  said  coldly;  M)ut 
spare  me  any  eiHiiiiries  about  luy  wife.' 

'  Good  Cod,  Russell ! '  exclaimed  Walter,  '  what  do 
you   mean?       What    has   happened    to    ]\Iary?      She    is 

not '     lie   hesitated,  and  then   looked  anxiously  in 

the  Rector's  face. 

The  latter  laughed  —  a  short,  bitter  laugh  which  was 
unplcjusant  to  hear. 

'Lady  Redman  has  not  told  you?'  he  asked.  *  Well, 
Lord  Redman,  I  am  glad  of  that.  I  am  glad  that  you, 
at  least,  arc  ignorant  of  the  matter ;  that  you  have  not 
allowed  this  blow  to  fall  upon  me  without  having  given 
me  a  friendly  word  of  warning.  My  business  with  you 
need  not  detain  us  long.  Lady  Redman  is  no  doubt 
aware  why  I  am  in  Rome,  and  I  will  leave  it  to  her  to 
explain  my  presence  here.  Li  the  meantime,  I  wish  to 
notify  to  you  my  resignation  of  the  living  of  Abbotsbury. 
I  have  already  informed  the  Bishop  of  my  intention  to 
do  so.' 

Walter  stared  at  him  in  bewilderment.  There  was 
a  great  anger  as  well  as  grief  in  Mr.  Russell's  tones. 
The  man  would  not  be  so  angry  if  his  wife  were  dead. 
Lord  Redman  reflected,  and  that  iMary  should  have  run 
away  from  her  husband  was  a  thought  which  provoked 
a  smile.  He  knew  few  women  more  eminently  staid  and 
respectable  than  his  cousin,  iNfary  Russell. 

He  was  about  to  reply  when  Hilda,  who  had  moved 
towards  the  door  with  the  intention  of  leaving  the 
drawing-room,  turned,  and  came  slowly  up  to  where 
the  Rector  and  her  husband  were  standing. 

20 


3o6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

^Mr.  Russell/  she  said  quietly,  ^perhaps  you  will 
explain  to  us  what  you  mean.  Your  words  imply  that 
I  am  acquainted  with  some  fact  relating  to  Mary  of 
which  my  husband  is  in  ignorance.  Please  understand 
that,  since  leaving  Abbotsbury,  I  have  heard  neither 
from  nor  of  her.* 

Mr.  Russell  looked  at  her  with  an  expression  in  which 
incredulity  and  disgust  were  but  ill-concealed.  His  hands 
plucked  nervously  at  a  little  gold  cross  which  hung  from 
his  watch-chain. 

*  I  have  no  doubt.  Lady  Redman,  that  you  are  acting 
a  part  which  you  conscientiously  consider  to  be  a  right 
one,'  he  replied.  *Your  priests  have  probably  told  you 
to  keep  up  the  deception  to  the  last,  but,  believe  me,  it 
is  quite  unnecessary.  You  have  succeeded  in  your  task. 
You  have  separated  a  husband  and  wife,  and  ruined  a 
happy  home.     You  and  your  Church  should  be  satisfied.' 

Hilda  grew  very  pale. 

'  Once  again,  Mr.  Russell,'  she  said  with  quiet  dignity, 
*  I  must  ask  you  to  explain  yourself.' 

*  Does  it  need  so  much  explanation  ?  Under  the  pre- 
tence of  friendship  for  my  wife,  have  you  not  gradually 
undermined  her  faith  in  her  own  Church?  Have  you 
not  worked  upon  her  religious  temperament,  you,  and 
the  priests  to  whom  you  sent  her,  until  you  succeeded  in 
convincing  her  that  she  was  pleasing  her  God  by  deceiv- 
inf^  her  husband  ?  Well,  what  does  it  matter  if  the  love 
between  a  husband  and  a  wife  has  been  shattered,  if  all  the 
trust  and  all  the  sympathy  of  years  has  been  broken  and 
destroyed  ?  You  have  made  a  convert  for  your  Church  -^ 
the  rest  signifies  nothing.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  307 

Walter  Ucdiiiaii  turned  to  his  wife. 

*  Hilda,'  he  said,  in  a  low  voiee,  *  is  this  true  ? ' 

*  Yes,'  continued  Mr.  Russell.  '  God  help  me,  it  is 
true  !  I  could  have  borne  anything  but  the  deception 
of  it,  the  cruelty  of  it.  I  am  not  a  narrow-minded  man, 
Lady  Redman  ;  I  think  you  have  cause  to  know  that. 
If  you  had  allowed  my  wife  to  take  me  into  her  confi- 
dence, your  Church  would  have  lost  nothin<,^  ;  it  would 
have  gained  my  respect  instead  of  my  contempt  for  its 
methods.  If  I  had  been  convinced  that  Mary's  happiness 
and  peace  of  mind  depended  upon  her  embracing  your 
creed,  I  would  not  have  opposed  her  doing  so  in  the 
end,  though  I  should  have  tried  to  reason  with  her 
before  the  final  step  was  taken.  It  was  this  of  which 
you  were  afraid  —  this,  and  a  husband's  affection.  Your 
Church  boasts  of  crushing  human  affections,  but  you 
might  have  had  some  little  pity  for  me,  Lady  Redman. 
I  pitied  you  when  I  believed  that  you  were  distressed  in 
your  mind,  and  all  the  time  you  were  striving  secretly 
to  separate  my  wife  from  me  in  this  world  and  the  next. 
You  may  have  been  acting  the  part  of  a  good  Catholic  — 
I  do  not  know  —  but,  were  you  acting  that  of  a  good 
Christian  ? ' 

Mr.  Russell's  voice  broke  suddenly.  Sitting  down, 
he  buried  his  face  in  his  hands. 

'  Hilda,'  exclaimed  Lord  Redman  —  '  Hilda,  let  me 
hear  you  say  that  he  is  mistaken.  You  have  not  done 
this  thing  ;  you  could  not  do  it.  Russell,'  he  continued, 
'  my  wife  is  incapable  of  acting  as  you  suppose.  There  is 
some  absurd  mistake.' 

Mr.  Russell  raised  his  head. 


3o8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'There  is  no  mistake/  he  said  dully.  'Mary  used 
to  be  very  bitter  about  Roman  Catholics.  It  was  a 
surprise  to  me  that  she  ceased  to  be  so  shortly  after 
Lady  Redman  came  to  Abbotsbury,  but  I  was  glad  that 
her  prejudices  should  be  modified.  I  knew  nothing, 
suspected  nothing.  Just  after  Easter  she  went  to  Lon- 
don, to  pay  a  visit  to  her  own  relations.  One  morning 
I  received  a  letter  from  her,  telling  me  that  she  had  been 
received  into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  at  the  Oratory 
the  day  before  by  a  Father  Galsworthy.  She  had  been 
"  instructed,"  so  she  wrote,  for  some  weeks,  and  had  long 
been  contemplating  the  step.  Her  spiritual  directors, 
she  told  me,  and  others  whom  she  had  consulted,  had 
counselled  her  not  to  tell  me  of  her  intention  until  her 
conversion  was  an  accomplished  fact.  Nothing,  she 
declared  —  no  earthly  ties  or  human  affection  —  could  be 
suffered  to  interfere  between  a  Catholic  and  the  Church. 
I  have  not  seen  her  since.' 

'  You  have  not  seen  her  since  ? '  repeated  Hilda. 

'  No,  Lady  Redman,  I  could  not.  It  is  not  that  she  has 
changed  her  faith  —  God  must  be  the  Judge  of  that  —  but 
it  is  the  manner  of  her  changing  it,  the  dishonesty,  the 
heartless  cruelty.  Can  a  just  action  come  out  of  so  much 
evil  ?  I  suppose  your  priests  believe  that  it  can.  Your 
grandmother.  Lady  Merton,  wrote  to  me.  She  told  me 
that  God  in  His  mercy  had  opened  the  eyes  of  my  wife  to 
the  truth,  and  had  called  her  into  His  Church.  Daily  inter- 
course with  a  Catholic,  she  said,  had  contributed  to  this 
blessed  result.     That  Catholic  was,  of  course,  yourself.' 

'  What  grounds  have  you  for  supposing  so^  Mr.  Russell  ? ' 
asked  Hilda, 


CASTING    OF    NKTS  309 

*  Lady  Morton's  letters/  replied  Mr.  Uussell,  *  and  other 
evidence.  Mary,  too,  does  not  deny  that  you  were  instru- 
mentid  in  convertinj^  her.  It  would  have  been  kinder  to 
warn  nic,  Liuly  Redman.  In  her  room  I  found  controver- 
sial books  —  books  in  which  your  name  was  written  — 
lent  to  her  by  you,  she  tells  me  in  her  letters.  They  were 
hidden  away,  as  though  she  had  wished  to  keep  their 
existence  in  our  house  a  secret.' 

'  Where  is  she  now  ?  '  asked  Hilda. 
Mr.  Russell  looked  at  her  indignantly. 

*  AYhy  need  you  keep  up  the  comedy  any  longer  ? '  he 
answered  bitterly.  *  You  have  probably  seen  her.  She  is 
in  Rome.' 

*  In  Rome  ! '  exclaimed  Walter. 

*  Yes,  in  a  retreat.  So  much  I,  her  husband,  am  allowed 
to  know.  No  doubt  you  are  acquainted  with  a  certain 
Father  Remington  in  this  town,  Lady  Redman.  It  appears 
that,  acting  on  Lady  Merton's  and  Father  Galsworthy's 
suggestion,  Mary  came  to  Rome,  and  Lady  Merton  under- 
took to  find  a  ^*  retreat,"  as  she  called  it,  for  her,  until  — 
as  my  wife  was  pleased  to  explain  to  me  —  Almighty  God 
should  see  fit  to  soften  my  anger  against  her.  I  was  not 
angry  with  her,  poor  child,  but  —  well,  when  love  and 
trust  are  betrayed,  it  is  a  hard  thing  to  bear !  Perhaps  I 
was  ungenerous,  but  I  wrote  and  told  her  not  to  return  to 
the  Rectory  just  then  ;  I  wanted  to  be  alone.  It  was  after 
writing  this  to  her  that  I  received  her  letter  saying  she 
should  go  to  Rome ;  and  since  then  she  has  written  to  tell 
me  that  she  is  here,  in  a  "  retreat "  conducted  by  a  certain 
Father  Remington,  and  that  she  hopes  to  benefit  by  the  in- 
dulgences of  the  Holy  Year.     But  I  do  not  know  why  I 


3IO  CASTING    OF    NETS 

am  telling  you  things  which  you  already  know  better  than 
1/  concluded  Mr.  Russell  abruptly. 

'Have  you  seen  Lady  Merton  since  you  arrived  in 
Rome?'  asked  Hilda  quietly. 

She  was  filled  with  a  great  compassion  for  the  Rector, 
and,  in  her  indignation  at  the  manner  in  which  his  wife 
had  treated  him,  the  fact  that  he  regarded  her  as  respon- 
sible for  his  unhappiness  seemed  of  little  importance. 

'No.  I  arrived  this  morning  only.  My  duties  at 
Abbotsbury  prevented  my  coming  sooner.' 

'  And  why  have  you  come,  Mr.  Russell  ? ' 

'  I  have  come  for  Mary,'  he  answered  simply.  '  I  want 
to  explain  to  her  that  I  am  not  angry.  I  was  angry  at 
first  that  she  should  have  listened  to  others,  and  have 
lost  her  confidence  in  me.  We  must  begin  life  afresh.  I 
cannot  return  to  Abbotsbury.' 

'  We  will  talk  about  that  later  on,'  said  Walter  Redman 
gently.  '  In  the  meantime,'  he  added,  '  you  are  under 
the  impression  that  Mary  has  been  influenced  by  my 
wife?' 

'  How  can  I  think  otherwise  ?  Mary  does  not  deny  it. 
Lady  Merton  has  distinctly  given  me  to  understand  that 
Lady  Redman's  influence  has  caused  her  conversion ;  and 
I  find  further  proofs  of  it  among  my  wife's  books.' 

'  And  if  I  deny  it  ? '  asked  Hilda. 

Mr.  Russell  made  no  reply. 

'  Will  you  listen  to  me,  Mr.  Russell  ? '  she  continued, 
after  a  pause.  '  Hitherto  I  have  listened  to  you  with- 
out attempting  to  defend  myself.  Will  you  believe  me 
when  I  tell  you  that  the  news  of  Mary  having  become 
a  Catholic  is  as  great  a  surprise  to  me  as  it  was  to  you  ? 


CASTING    OF    NETS  jii 

It  cannot  be  so  great  a  shock,  but,  all  the  same,  it  is  a 
shock  ;  and  I  am  more  grieved  U)r  you  than  I  can  say.' 

The  Rector  looked  at  her  in  silence,  but  it  was  evident 
that  he  did  not  believe  her. 

*  The  books  you  found  were  mine,'  she  continued,  ^  and  I 
lent  them  to  her.  When  I  iirst  came  to  Abbotsbury  we 
used  to  talk  about  the  difFerenecs  in  our  religions,  and  1 
was  astonished  to  find  how  greatly  Mary  was  prejudiced 
against  the  Roman  Church,  and  how  very  ignorant  she 
was  of  its  tenets.  She  used  to  tell  mc  the  most  absurd 
thinirs  of  what  she  imaGrined  that  we  believed.  I  lent  her 
those  books  at  her  own  request.  By  degrees  she  ceased 
to  mention  the  subject  to  me,  and  I  concluded  that  she 
wished  to  avoid  it.  Afterwards,'  and  here  Hilda  glanced 
at  her  husband,  ^events  happened  which  made  me  less 
inclined  than  ever  to  discuss  religious  differences.  I  was 
surprised  to  learn  that  ^lary  had  visited  my  grandmother 
at  Ware.  I  first  heard  of  this  visit  from  you ;  Mary  never 
alluded  to  it.  In  fact,  to  be  brief,  I  am  absolutely  inno- 
cent of  any  attempt  or  desire  to  make  Mary  abandon  the 
Church  of  England,  and  I  must  decline  to  be  held  respon- 
sible in  any  way  for  the  action  of  other  people.  I  think, 
Mr.  Russell,  my  husband  will  tell  you  that  I  am  speaking 
the  trutli  when  I  say  that  I  strongly  condemn  any  inter- 
ference with  the  religious  opinion  of  others,  whether  it 
proceeds  from  Catholics  or  Protestants.' 

'  Russell,'  exclaimed  Walter  warmly,  '  you  must  dismiss 
from  your  mind  any  suspicion  of  my  wife  having  been  a 
party  to  this  business.  She  is  incapable  of  it.  Nobody 
knows  that  better  than  I  do.  If  you  will  reflect  for  a 
moment,  you  will  see  what  I  mean.' 


312  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Mr.  Russell  hesitated. 

^  I  would  give  much  to  believe  it/  he  said.  ^  Lady 
Redman  and  I  have  always  been  good  friends,  and  the 
feeling  that  she  has  known  of  all  this  from  the  beginning, 
and  has  been  the  instigator  of  it,  has  made  the  blow  a 
harder  one  still  to  bear.' 

*  Mr.  Russell/  said  Hilda,  *  I  declare  to  you  upon  my 
honour  that  I  have  had  no  part,  direct  or  indirect,  in  the 
step  Mary  has  taken,  save  the  wholly  innocent  one  of 
having  attempted  to  disabuse  her  mind  of  certain  foolish 
prejudices,  and  of  having,  at  her  own  request,  lent  her 
some  books  on  the  position  of  the  Roman  Church.' 

Lady  Redman  spoke  in  clear,  firm  tones  which  carried 
conviction  with  them.  Mr.  Russell  looked  at  her  keenly 
for  some  seconds. 

'  If  I  have  misjudged  you,'  he  said  quietly,  ^  I  beg  your 
forgiveness,  Lady  Redman.  I  thought  that  zeal  for  your 
Church  had  caused  you  to  forget  all  other  things.  My 
wife's  letters  to  me  are  full  of  allusions  to  the  duty  of  a 
Catholic  to  give  up,  if  necessary,  all  human  affections  for 
the  sake  of  Christ.  She  means  for  the  sake  of  the  Church 
she  has  joined,  but  that  is  no  matter.  Submission  and 
obedience  to  the  counsels  of  her  confessor,  Father  Gals- 
worthy, she  assures  me,  made  her  keep  all  her  intentions 
secret  from  her  husband  until  she  had  actually  been 
received  into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  I  have  read 
that  a  wife  should  cleave  unto  her  husband,  and  surely 
she  should  not  desert  her  husband's  faith  for  another. 
But  you  are  a  Catholic,  Lady  Redman.  I  cannot  expect 
you  to  sympathize  with  me.  Your  sympathies  will  be 
with  the  soul  which  has  been  rescued  to  the  Church.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  313 

Hilda  siuldenly  biirRt  into  tears. 

*  It  is  hateful ! '  she  exclaimed,  struggling  to  regain  the 
mastery  over  herself.  *  Is  there  no  truth  or  loyalty  any- 
where ?  Does  religion  destroy  honour  ?  Mr.  Russell/ 
she  continued,  with  a  little  sob,  *  I  abhor  what  your  wife 
has  done.  Do  you  understand  me  ?  —  I  abhor  it,  and 
those  who  have  made  her  do  it.' 

Walter  sprang  to  her  side. 

'  Hush,  Hilda,  hush ! '  he  said.  *  Russell  knows  now 
that  you  have  no  hand  in  it.' 

Since  her  illness  the  year  before  he  had  not  seen  his 
wife  so  excited. 

*Get  Mary  away  from  those  people,'  she  continued, 
scarcely  heeding  him.  ^  Get  her  away  from  them,  or  they 
will  make  her  destroy  your  happiness  and  her  own,  and 
they  will  tell  her  that  she  is  doing  a  righteous  act.  Do 
you  think  they  care  for  her  soul  or  for  yours  ?  They  want 
converts  —  money,  numbers,  to  swell  the  influence  of  the 
Church  ! ' 

^  Hilda !' 

^  No,  Walter  ;  let  me  speak  !  I  have  thought  so  much 
all  these  months  —  you  do  not  know  how  much  !  They 
want  you,  Walter ;  they  cannot  wait  for  your  child.  But 
they  shall  have  neither.  I  will  not  have  my  child  — 
your  child  —  brought  up  a  Catholic' 

Walter  Redman  thought  that  he  had  never  seen  his 
wife  look  so  beautiful  as  at  that  moment.  She  stood 
erect  and  defiant.  Her  tears  had  vanished,  and  a  great 
contempt  shone  in  her  eyes.  Hilda's  last  words  caused 
a  thrill  to  pass  through  him.  The  circumstances  attend- 
ing her  illness  had  made  him  bitterly  regret  the  conditions 


314  CASTING    OF    NETS 

to  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  agree  at  his  marriage, 
and  which  he  had  then  so  lightly  pledged  himself  to 
observe.  The  thought  that  Abbotsbury  and  his  family 
title  and  estates  must  in  all  probability  pass  into  Cath- 
olic hands  in  the  future  had  haunted  him  of  late  with 
unpleasant  insistency,  for  his  resentment  at  the  conduct 
of  Lady  Merton  and  the  priests  had  been  very  deep,  and 
it  was  only  for  Hilda's  sake  that  he  had  kept  silence. 
The  birth  of  the  still-born  son  had  brought  home  to  him 
the  gravity  of  the  promise  which  he  had  made,  and  he 
had  often  wondered  how  it  was  that  he  could  no  longer 
feel  the  same  indifference  to  the  idea  of  his  successor  be- 
longing to  an  alien  faith.  The  voice  which  he  had  heard 
in  the  old  chancel  at  Abbotsbury  had  spoken  the  same 
words  to  him  many  times  since.  By  what  right  had  he 
pledged  his  successors  to  membership  of  a  Church  to 
protect  their  country  from  whicli  the  dead  of  the  race 
he  represented  had  suffered  and  fought?  The  promise, 
once  given,  however,  must  be  maintained,  and  Walter 
Redman  was  too  proud  a  man,  and  too  loyal  a  gentle- 
man, to  think  of  not  maintaining  it.  Hilda  had  married 
him  upon  the  condition  that  the  children  born  to  them 
should  be  brought  up  Catliolics,  and  Catholics  they  must 
be,  unless  their  mother  changed  her  faith. 

'I  will  not  have  my  child  —  your  child  —  brought  up  a 
Catholic' 

The  words  rang  in  Lord  Redman's  ears  as  he  looked  at 
his  wife  in  silence.  He  had  suspected  her  state  since  they 
had  been  in  Rome,  but  she  had  said  no  word  of  it  to  him. 

Mr.  Russell  approached  Hilda  with  outstretched  hand. 

'  Lady  Redman,'  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  '  I  have  done 


CASTING    OF    NETS  315 

you  a  great  wrong.  Can  you  forgive  me  ?  The  trial  has 
been  a  very  hard  one,  for  though  Mary  and  I  must  live  to- 
gether as  man  and  wife,  things  can  never  be  the  same  as 
in  the  past.  A  broken  confidence  will  always  rise  up  be- 
tween us.  Thank  God  we  have  no  children  !  At  least  I 
shall  not  have  to  witness  a  struggle  for  my  children's 
souls.' 

Hilda  took  his  hand  with  a  faint  smile. 

*  I  have  nothing  to  forgive,*  she  replied.  *  But,  oh,  I  do 
grieve  for  you,  Mr.  Russell!  I  cannot  forgive  Mary. 
What  she  has  done  is  no  religious  act,  but  one  of  utter 
selfishness.' 

^  You  must  forgive  INIary  also,'  said  the  Rector  gently. 
^  We  must  remember  that  she  believes  her  soul  to  be  at 
stake.* 

'  Her  soul ! '  exclaimed  Hilda  contemptuously.  '  There 
is  nothing  that  people  are  so  cruelly  selfish  about  as  their 
souls.  But,  Mr.  Russell,  what  can  we  do?  You  say 
Mary  is  in  a  retreat  conducted  by  Father  Remington?' 

'  Yes.     Do  you  know  him  ? ' 

'  No ;  I  have  met  him.  He  is  a  famous  preacher,  and 
much  sought  after  by  the  English  converts  here  in  Rome.' 

'T  must  see  my  wife.  Lady  Redman,'  said  Mr.  Russell. 
'  I  wish  to  leave  her  full  liberty  in  her  new  religion,  and 
to  do  all  I  can  that  it  should  separate  us  as  little  as 
possible.  Of  course,  in  my  position  as  a  clergyman,  it  is 
most  embarrassing.  Mary's  action  is  not  only  a  moral  blow 
to  me,  but  it  is  an  insult  to  my  ministry.  I  felt  that  I 
must  at  once  resign  my  charge  at  Abbotsbury,  and ' 

The  door  of  the  drawing-room  opened,  and  one  of  the 
Italian  servants  asked  if  their  Excellencies  received. 


3i6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  Who  is  it,  Andrea  ? '  asked  Walter. 

^Miladi  Merton,  Eccellenza.' 

Walter  and  Hilda  looked  at  each  other  in  dismay,  and 
then  at  Mr.  Russell. 

*  No,'  said  Walter  hurriedly  to  the  footman ;  '  say 
that ' 

'  I  was  sure  that  you  would  be  at  home  on  such  a  bad 
afternoon.     How  are  you,  dear  Hilda  ? ' 

Lady  Merton  had  followed  on  the  servant's  heels,  and 
was  already  inside  the  room.  She  gave  a  slight  start  of 
surprise  on  seeing  Mr.  Russell,  but,  recovering  herself,  she 
made  him  a  dignified  bow  and  sat  down  in  the  arm-chair 
by  the  side  of  which  her  grand-daughter  was  standing. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

WALTER   was   the  first   to   break  the  constrained 
silence  which  followed  Lady  Merton's  entrance.* 
His  manner  was  dryness  itself  as  he  turned  to  her. 

'  Your  visit  is  opportune,  Lady  Merton,'  he  said ;  '  it  will 
save  Mr.  Russell  the  trouble  of  calling  upon  you.' 

The   words   were   studiedly   cold,  and   not   altogether 
polite,  but  Walter  had  difficulty  enough  in  restraining  the 
indignation  which  was  boiling  within  him. 
Lady  Merton  gave  a  deprecatory  little  smile. 

*  I  was  not  aware  that  Mr.  Russell  was  in  Rome/  she 
remarked. 

'  And  I,'  said  Hilda,  '  was  not  aware  that  Mrs.  Russell 
was  here.  Perhaps/  she  added,  '  you  will  explain  to  Mr. 
Russell  that  I  am  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  deception 
which  has  been  practised  upon  him.  He  came  here  this 
afternoon  under  the  impression  that  I  had  brought  about 
his  ^vife's  conversion,  if  it  can  be  called  conversion.' 

Lady  Merton's  eyes  drooped. 

*  All,  my  dear  Hilda,'  she  said,  '  to  some  of  us  it  is  given 
to  sow  the  good  seed  unconsciously.  I  can  quite  enter  into 
Mr.  Russell's  fcclinjjs.  But  we  will  trust  that  Almifirhtv 
God,  in  His  own  good  time,  will  open  his  eyes  to  the 
truth,  and  that  he  will  profit  by  liis  dear  wife's  example. 


3i8  CASTING    OF    NETS 

In  the  meantime,  she  is  willing  and  thankful  to  endure 
persecution  for  the  Church's  sake.' 

^  No  doubt/  exclaimed  Mr.  Russell ;  '  but  at  whose 
hands  does  she  expect  persecution,  Lady  Merton?  Not 
at  her  husband's,  surely  ! ' 

'  You  have  refused  to  receive  your  wife  back  into  your 
house  because  she  has  become  a  Catholic,  Mr.  Russell,'  re- 
joined Lady  Merton.     ^  Is  that  not  an  act  of  persecution  ? ' 

The  Rector  looked  at  her  in  bewilderment. 

'  I  have  refused  to  receive  her  back ! '  he  repeated. 
'  That  is  an  absurd  statement  to  make.  May  I  ask.  Lady 
Merton,  who  has  told  you  such  an  untruth  ? ' 

'  Your  wife  herself.  She  showed  me  your  letter  to 
her.  It  was  a  cruel  letter,  Mr.  Russell,  but,  alas !  we 
converts  are  accustomed  to  encounter  cruelty  from  those 
who  profess  to  care  for  us.' 

Mr.  Russell  paced  backwards  and  forwards  up  and 
down  the  drawing-room. 

'  If  she  has  so  misunderstood  me,'  he  exclaimed,  '  it 
is  time  that  I  came  to  fetch  her  back.  I  only  asked 
for  time  — a  few  days,  perhaps  — to  recover  from  the 
shock  I  had  received.  Can  you  not  understand,  Lady 
Merton?  She  is  my  wife!  I  have  nobody  but  her  in 
this  world,  and  now  your  Church  has  divided  us— in 
this  world  and  the  next.  Oh !  it  is  not  a  bodily  separa- 
tion—  that  I  know;  but  you  have  separated  our  souls. 
You  have  destroyed  confidence  and  trust.  Can  love 
exist  without  them?  Can  there  be  a  greater,  a  more 
unending  cruelty  ? ' 

*Not  unending,'  said  Hilda  softly;  'there  will  be  no 
Churches  in  the  next  world.' 


CASTING    OF    NETS  319 

Lady  Morton  turned  to  licr  indignimtly. 

MIild:i!'  she  exclaimed;  ^  arc  you  losing  your  faith? 
Surely  you  must  rejoice  over  Mrs.  Russell's  conversion ! 
It  was  through  you  that  she  first  became  acquainted  with 
Catholic  doctrine.' 

'  Please  do  not  try  to  fix  the  responsibility  of  Mrs. 
Ilussell's  conduct  upon  me,'  replied  Hilda  coldly.  '  I 
entirely  disapprove  of  a  wife  leaving  her  husband  in 
ignorance  of  such  a  matter  as  her  change  of  faitli.  If 
Mary  had  been  honest,  she  would  have  made  no  mystery 
about  it.  Those  who  allowx'd  her  to  act  in  such  a 
manner  have  much  to  answer  for.' 

Lady  Merton  shook  her  head  sadly. 

*Ah,  my  dear  child,  this  comes  of  living  with  Pro- 
testants! You  have  forgotten  that  virtue  of  obedience 
which  is  the  mark  of  a  good  Catholic.  If  Mrs.  Russell 
kept  silence  as  to  her  intentions,  it  was  because  she  was 
directed  to  do  so  by  her  spiritual  advisers.  We  are  not 
to  be  judges  in  such  matters ;  it  is  our  duty  to  obey. 
As  I  say,  I  feel  for  Mr.  Russell.  No  doubt,  to  a  Pro- 
testant like  himself  it  appears  an  unnecessary  hardship 
to  be  excluded  from  his  wife's  confidence  in  spiritual 
matters  ;  but  he  must  learn  that  human  affections  cannot 
be  allowed  to  impede  the  work  of  the  Church.  In  this 
instance,  what  appears  to  Mr.  Russell  to  be  a  cruelty  is 
iu  reality  a  kindness.  The  knowledge  of  his  ^\^fe's  impend- 
ing conversion  could  only  have  led  to  painful  discussions 
between  him  and  her.  Father  Galsworthy  ver\'  rightly 
wished  to  spare  both  his  penitent  and  her  husband  any 
superfluous  trials  or  difficulties.  Mr.  Russell  must  sub- 
mit himself  to  the  will  of  God,  and  pray  that  to  him  also 


320  CASTING    OF    NETS 

may  be  vouchsafed  the  grace  which  has  been  bestowed 
upon  his  wife.' 

'  It  appears  to  me/  said  Lord  Redman  dryly,  *  that  God 
has  very  little  to  do  with  the  business.' 

Lady  Merton  darted  a  look  of  angry  contempt  at 
him. 

'  As  you  do  not  believe  in  Him,  my  dear  Walter/  she 
replied,  '  you  are  hardly  competent  to  judge.' 

'I  understand  that  my  wife  is  at  present  in  retreat, 
Lady  Merton,'  said  Mr.  Russell. 

He  spoke  very  calmly,  and  with  a  quiet  dignity  of 
manner. 

'Yes,'  replied  Lady  Merton.  'Father  Remington  is 
conducting  a  retreat  at  this  moment.  A  most  holy 
man!'  she  added.  'I  am  sure  that  Mrs.  Russell  will 
emerge  from  it  having  gained  fresh  strength  and  cour- 
age to  encounter  the  trials  and  difficulties  which  she 
may  be  called  upon  to  bear  for  her  religion's  sake.' 

Mr.  Russell  looked  at  her  quietly. 

'Those  trials  and  difficulties  will  not  come  from  me,' 
he  said.  'I,  like  Father  Remington,  am  a  priest  of 
Christ's  Church,  Lady  Merton.  If  my  wife  has  for- 
gotten this,  I  do  not  forget  it.  Perhaps  you  will  tell 
her  so.  Tell  her  also  that  I  am  in  Rome,  waiting  for 
her  to  return  to  me.' 

Lady  Merton  seemed  as  though  she  were  about  to 
reply,  but  she  contented  herself  with  bowing  stiffly. 

*  No  doubt  you  would  like  to  see  Mrs.  Russell  ? '  she 
said,  turning  to  Hilda.  'Under  the  circumstances,  a 
visit  would  probably  be  permitted.* 

'  No,'  replied   Hilda ;  '  I   have   no   wish   to   see   Mrs. 


CASTING    OF    NKIS  321 

Russell  until  she  lias  returned  to  lier  proper  plaee  by 
her  hushimd's  side.     Please  tell  her  so,' 

Lady  JNlerton  looked  from  one  to  the  other  of  them 
with  aggrieved  astonishment. 

'  It  is  so  sad,'  she  nun-mured,  *  to  find  such  intolerance 
—  so  very  sad!  Hut  we  Catholics  are  proud  to  be  per- 
secuted for  our  ijord's  sake.  As  for  you,  Hilda,'  she 
continued,  '  I  am  distressed  beyond  words  at  your  atti- 
tude. Instead  of  standing  by  your  friend  JMrs.  Russell, 
you  hold  aloof  from  her.  You,  a  Catholic,  deny  your 
help  and  sympathy  to  one  who  has  sacrificed  nmch  for 
the  Church's  sake.' 

*  She  has  indeed  sacrificed  much/  exclaimed  Hilda, 
with  scarcely  repressed  indignation.  ^  She  has  sacrificed 
truth  and  honour,  and  a  husband's  happiness,  at  the 
bidding  of  those  who  move  heaven  and  earth  to  make 
one  proselyte,  even  if  that  proselyte  be  a  weak  woman. 
Well,  if  this  is  religion,  I  have  no  sympathy  with  it. 
I ' 

Mr.  Russell  interposed. 

*  Lady  Redman,'  he    said   gently,  '  do  not  allow   your 

compassion  for  me  to  lessen  your  faith.     We  must  make 

allowances  for  the  opinions  of  others,  however  nmch  we 

may  disagree  with   them.     After   all,  we   are  all   of  us 

Christians.     I  have  no  right  to  speak  to  you,  for  I  am  not 

of  your  Church  ;  but,  thank  God  !  the  Church  of  England 

teaches  tolerance,  and  shall  I,  her  minister,  not  practise 

it  ?     Lady  ^Merton,  I  hope,  will  believe  that  I  shall  not 

persecute  my  wife  for  Christ's  sake,  however  much  I  may 

grieve  over  what  I  hold  to  be  a  terrible  error  on  her  part. 

But  you,  Lady  Redman,  I  would  not  have  you  shaken  in 

21 


322  CASTING    OF    NETS 

your  faith  by  things  in  which,  as  your  husband  said  a  few 
minutes  ago,  God  has  no  part.' 

Lady  Merton  rose  from  her  seat. 

'  I  shall  leave  you  to  benefit  by  your  Protestant  sur- 
roundings, Hilda,'  she  said  scornfully.  ^  I  cannot  remain 
in  your  house  to  hear  our  holy  religion  insulted.  Ours, 
did  I  say  ?  I  should  rather  have  said  mine ;  for,  whatever 
you  may  be,  Hilda,  you  are  no  longer  a  Catholic.  Poor, 
misguided  child !  has  not  the  warning  of  God's  anger 
which  you  have  so  recently  received  been  sufficient  for 
you?' 

*  One  moment,  Lady  Merton ;  we  shall  not  detain  you 
long.' 

Walter  Redman  suddenly  broke  the  silence  which  he 
had  maintained. 

^  You  are  very  ready  to  take  God  into  partnership,'  he 
said.  *  Let  me  assure  you  that  the  warning  to  which  you 
allude  has  been  more  than  enough  for  my  wife  —  and  for 
myself.  Your  zeal  for  proselytism  nearly  cost  Hilda  her 
life.  It  did  cost  the  life  of  her  child.  You  need  not  be 
at  all  uneasy,  for  we  shall  scarcely  fail  to  profit  by  your 
warning  —  indeed,  I  believe  that  Hilda  has  profited  by  it 
already.' 

*I  do  not  know  what  you  mean,  Walter/  said  Lady 
Merton  loftily.  'But  I  do  know  that  since  you  have 
married  my  grand-daughter  you  have  systematically 
endeavoured  to  undermine  and  destroy  her  faith.  In 
England  you  have  surrounded  her  with  agnostics  like 
Mr.  Shirley,  and  here  in  Rome  you  have  thrown  her 
with  people  whose  acquaintance  good  Catholics  seek 
to  avoid.     How  far  such  conduct  on  your  part  is  honour- 


CASTING    OF    Nt/rs  323 

able,  and  consistent  with  the  promises  you  made  at  your 
marriage,   1  leave  to  your  conscience  to  decide.' 

'  It  is  nut  true!'  exclaimed  Hilda  indignantly.  'You 
have  no  right  to  say  such  things.  Walter  has  been  loyal, 
and  more  than  loyal,  to  his  word.  It  is  you,  and  those 
about  you,  who  have  done  your  best  to  destroy  my  faith. 
My  luisband  has  never  told  you  this,  but  now  1  will  tell 
you,  and  perhaps  you  will  understand.  It  was  I  who 
asked  him  to  protect  me  from  you,  and  from  those  whom 
you  had  set  to  try  to  terrorize  me  into  doing  what  you 
wished.  Thank  God,  my  ffiith  in  His  goodness  and  my 
love  for  my  husband  have  been  strong  enough  to  vanquish 
the  superstitious  fears  upon  which  you  tried  to  work. 
Walter  is  right:  you  nearly  killed  me,  among  you,  and 
you  did  kill  my  child  —  his  child.  You  would  have  had 
me  break  my  promise  to  him  without  scruple  —  the  promise 
you  urged  me  to  give,  making  me  believe  that  my  future 
husband  was  certain  to  become  a  C^atholic,  and  that  it 
was  all  a  mere  matter  of  form  to  facilitate  our  marriai^e. 
You  meant  me  to  make  him  become  a  Catholic,  because 
his  conversion  would  add  to  the  Church's  influence,  and 
you  would  not  have  cared  had  Walter  been  another 
Wearmouth ;  you  would  have  encouraged  me  to  marry 
him  all  the  same.' 

^  Hilda ! '  exclaimed  her  husband.  '  What  are  you 
saving  ? ' 

'  Walter,  I  will  speak ! '  she  continued  impetuously. 
*  I  am  weary  and  sick  of  the  falseness,  the  pretence 
of  religion,  where  there  is  nothing  but  ambition  and 
worldliness,  the  mad  desire  to  extend  the  influence  of 
the   Church   at  all   costs,  the  use  of  Almighty   God   to 


324  CASTING    OF    NETS 

frighten  the  weak,  as  nurses  conjure  up  a  bogey  with 
which  to  frighten  naughty  children.  And  now  you 
have  made  another  convert ;  and  in  what  way  ?  By 
encouraging  a  wife  to  deceive  her  husband,  by  ruining 
a  home,  by  breaking  the  heart  of  a  good  man.' 

Hilda  stopped.  She  was  breathing  rapidly  and  her 
eyes  flashed  indignantly  upon  Lady  Merton.  The  latter 
looked  at  her  grand-daughter  with  an  expression  of 
stunned  amazement  on  her  face,  which  presently  disap- 
peared before  her  rising  anger. 

'  I  hope  you  are  satisfied  with  the  result  of  your  efforts 
to  destroy  your  wife's  faith,'  she  said  to  Walter  bitterly. 
^  This  is  the  natural  consequence  of  associating  with  so- 
called  Liberal  Catholics  like  the  Brancaleone,  and  un- 
worthy priests  like  Monsignor  Martini.  I  will  not  dwell 
upon  the  ingratitude  which  both  of  you  are  showing 
towards  me.  Every  word  which  you  have  uttered,  Hilda, 
tells  me  but  too  plainly  that  what  we  have  all  dreaded 
for  you  has  come  to  pass.  You  are  no  longer  a  Catholic. 
You  have  allowed  an  earthly  affection  to  blind  you  to 
your  duty  towards  the  Church.  You  have  lost  your 
faith.' 

There  was  a  moment's  pause  as  Lady  Merton  ceased 
speaking.  Hilda's  face  quivered  with  an  emotion  which 
she  was  determined  to  control.  Almost  unconsciously 
she  crossed  the  room  to  her  husband  and  stood  by  his 
side. 

^  I  think,'  she  replied  gently,  '  that  I  have  found  it.' 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

HILDA  had  kept  the  fact  that  she  expected  again 
to  become  a  mother  very  carefully  to  herself. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  agitation  which  the  discovery  of 
Mary  Russell's  clandestine  conversion  had  caused  her, 
she  would  probably  have  allowed  a  few  more  weeks  to 
pass  before  acquainting  Walter  with  what  had  now  passed 
from  a  hope  into  a  certainty. 

Since  she  had  been  in  Rome  many  influences  had  been 
at  work  in  her  mind.  She  had  come  to  the  fountain-head 
of  her  religion  believing  that  she  should  be  strengthened 
in  her  faith,  and  anxious  to  assure  herself  that  here  at 
least  she  should  recover  the  respect  for  the  Church  which 
the  events  of  the  last  few  months  had  so  severely  tried. 

But  from  the  day  on  which  she  first  entered  St.  Peter's 
her  disappointment  had  become  ever  greater,  her  dis- 
satisfaction more  complete. 

This  was  not  the  Rome  she  had  so  often  imagined  in 
the  days  of  her  girlhood  at  Cawarden,  the  Holy  City 
^vhcre  the  Vicar  of  Christ  watched  over  the  needs  of 
the  Churcli,  and  where  men  should  feel  themselves  as 
standing  at  the  threshold  of  heaven. 

Being,  as  Mr.  Shirley  had  said  of  her,  a  woman  who 
thought.  Lady  Redman  had  quickly  realized  that  what- 
ever Roman  Catholicism  might  be  in  England,  at  Rome 


326  CASTING    OF    NETS 

it  was  far  less  of  a  religious  than  a  political  power,  and  it 
had  not  taken  her  long  to  discover  that  the  ^  exaltation 
of  our  Holy  Mother  the  Church'  signified  in  reality  the 
furtherance  of  the  social  and  political  aims  of  the  Vatican. 
The  circumstances  under  which  she  had  made  her  first 
acquaintance  with  Rome  had  contributed  in  no  slight 
degree  towards  enabling  Hilda  to  penetrate  the  artificial 
surface  which  masks  the  most  complicated,  and  possibly 
the  most  powerful,  political  institution  of  modern  times. 
The  fact  of  her  being  by  birth  a  member  of  an  old  Cath- 
olic family  in  England,  and  grand-daughter  to  Lady  Mer- 
ton,  whose  name  was  as  a  household  word  among  the 
Black  society  of  the  capital,  had  given  her  the  entrance 
not  only  into  the  houses  of  the  English-speaking  convert 
society,  of  which  her  grandmother  was  an  acknowledged 
leader,  but  also  into  that  more  exclusive  world  of  the 
genuine  Romans  belonging  to  the  clerical  party  who 
afiected  to  ignore  the  existence  of  the  Quirinal  and  the 
Government,  and  to  regard  the  Vatican  as  the  Court  and 
the  centre  of  authority.  On  the  other  hand,  her  marriage 
with  the  Protestant  head  of  a  well-known  English  house 
had  opened  to  her  other  doors  than  those  of  the  narrow 
and  bigoted  society  in  whose  midst  she  would  certainly 
have  found  herself,  and  into  which  the  English  Roman 
Catholic,  on  first  coming  to  Rome,  usually  drifts.  She 
had  not  been  slow  to  seize  the  opportunity  of  escaping 
from  Lady  Merton's  entourage,  and  Walter's  absolute 
refusal,  after  his  first  experiences,  to  enter  it,  had  greatly 
facilitated  her  emancipation  from  the  social  and  moral 
nets  which  are  carefully  woven  to  prevent  the  novice  at 
Rome  from  falling  under  Liberal  influences. 


CASTING    OF     NKTS  327 

Of  all  the  ac(iiiaint;uiccs  bIic  liail  made  at  Home,  Hilda 
undoubtedly  preferred  the  Princess  Hrancaleone  antl  Con- 
signor Martini.  These,  indeed,  had  become  more  than 
ac(iuaintances,  and  Hilda  regarded  them  both  as  friends  to 
whom  she  could  talk  unrestrainedly.  Princess  Branca- 
leono,  with  her  ready  sympathies,  had  (juickly  discovered 
that  Lady  Redman  was  both  puzzled  and  disappointed 
by  what  she  saw  around  her.  As  an  Englishwoman, 
married  to  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  Roman 
princes,  she  had  frequently  to  receive  compatriots  who 
were  recommended  to  her  good  offices  by  friends  in  Eng- 
land. As  a  rule,  however,  she  found  that  they  preferred 
beins:  left  to  their  hotel  life  and  to  their  Endish  tea- 
parties,  their  one  idea  being  to  see  as  little  of  Italian 
life  as  they  could,  in  order,  possibly,  to  feel  more  free  to 
abuse  the  Italians.  She  had  made  up  her  mind  the  first 
nidit  on  which  the  Redmans  dined  at  the  Palazzo  Mon- 
telupi  that  they  were  not  people  to  ask  to  dinner  once 
and  then  relegate  to  the  limbo  of  the  English  colony. 
Princess  Brancaleone  was  nothing  if  not  a  woman  of  the 
world,  and  it  had  not  escaped  her  that  Lady  Redman, 
instead  of  sitting  alone  in  a  corner  with  an  expression  of 
superiority  and  disapproval,  as  did  most  of  her  English 
guests,  was  always  surrounded  by  a  grouj)  of  people  who 
were  evidently  pleased  to  meet  her.  Lord  Redman,  too, 
instead  of  standing  awkwardly  near  a  door,  speaking  to 
nobody  and  looking  unutterably  bored,  was  able  to  talk 
in  other  tongues  besides  his  own,  and  to  talk  well.  Tlic 
consequences  had  been  that  the  Princess  and  her  husband 
had  compared  notes,  and  the  Redmans  from  that  day 
became  frequent  guests  at  the    Palazzo  ^lontelupi,  and 


328  CASTING    OF    NETS 

at  the  dinners  which  thej  were  perpetually  giving  during 
the  Roman  season.  It  was  here  that  Hilda  and  Walter 
met  all  the  most  interesting  people  of  the  capital.  The 
Princess  had  no  sooner  discovered  that  they  were  anxious 
to  see  the  true  life  of  Rome,  and  that  the  foreign  colony 
bored  them,  than  she  exerted  herself  to  make  them  ac- 
quainted with  those  men  and  women  who  were  forming 
the  history  of  their  day  in  Italy  and  elsewhere. 

Princess  Brancaleone's  salon  was  not  only  cosmopolitan, 
but  it  was  also  one  in  which  talent  was  welcomed  as  an 
honoured  guest,  and  birth  had  sometimes  to  be  content 
with  the  second  place. 

The  letters  which  she  had  received  from  her  old  friend 
Mr.  Shirley  concerning  Lord  and  Lady  Redman  had 
increased  the  interest  which  she  already  felt  in  them. 
He  had  given  her  more  than  one  hint  as  to  how  matters 
stood  between  Walter  and  his  wife,  and  the  Princess, 
though  her  acquaintance  with  Lady  Merton  was  of  the 
slightest  nature,  was  well  aware  of  the  latter's  mania  for 
proselytism,  and  both  distrusted  and  disliked  the  set  by 
which  she  was  surrounded  in  Rome. 

She  had  not  been  surprised,  therefore,  when  Hilda  had 
talked  of  her  disappointment  at  finding  political  animos- 
ities where  she  had  expected  to  find  religion ;  malice  and 
evil-speaking  where  Christian  charity  ought  to  have 
reigned.  Possessing,  as  she  did,  a  clue  to  Hilda's  char- 
acter, and  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of  the  difficulties  with 
which  she  had  to  contend.  Princess  Brancaleone  was  able 
to  guess  at  the  spirit  which  prompted  many  of  her 
remarks. 

She  had  hardly  known  how  to  reply  when  Hilda  had 


CASTING    OF    NETS  329 

sometimes  asked  what  she  should  have  done  had  Prince 
Brancalcone  been  a  Protestant,  and  wlicthcr  she  would 
have  tried  to  convert  him.  She  herself  had  come  to 
Rome  a  sincere  though  liberal-minded  Catholic,  but  a 
few  years  passed  under  the  shadow  of  the  Vatican  had 
caused  her  to  relinquish  all  attempts  to  believe  in  its 
spirituality.  Both  her  husband  and  she  had  suffered  too 
deeply  from  the  vindictive  spite  of  the  clerical  party,  from 
whose  ranks  Prince  Brancalcone,  for  patriotic  motives 
and  from  a  sense  of  disgust  at  the  degrading  effects  of 
the  policy  of  the  Church  upon  the  people,  had  separated 
himself. 

The  Princess  had  tried  to  parry  Hilda's  questions  by 
pointing  out  that,  at  Rome,  it  was  the  custom  for  a 
husband  and  wife  to  be  at  least  nominally  of  the  same 
faith,  and  that  had  she  not  already  been  a  Catholic  when 
she  married  the  Prince,  she  would  have  been  obliged  to 
become  one. 

'  It  would  have  been  much  simpler,'  Hilda  had  observed, 
*if  I  had  become  a  Protestant  when  I  married  Walter. 
A  wife  ought  certainly  to  belong  to  the  same  religion  as 
her  husband.' 

Hilda  had  been  deeply  shocked  and  disgusted  at  the 
deception  and  dishonesty  which  had  attended  Mary 
Russell's  conversion.  She  had  adhered  to  her  deter- 
mination not  to  see  Mrs.  Russell  until  the  latter  had 
returned  to  her  husband.  When  she  did  see  her,  after 
she  emerged  from  her  *  retreat,'  she  soon  discovered  that 
Mary  was  as  violently  Catholic  as  she  had  once  been 
anti-Catholic.  She  had  adopted  the  aggressive  attitude 
which  she  had  learned  from  those  Avho  had  brouorht  about 


330  CASTING    OF    NETS 

her  change  of  faith.  Mrs.  St.  Leger  had,  so  to  speak, 
appropriated  the  new  convert  for  her  own,  and  already 
she  and  Madame  de  Hohenthal  had  whispered  tales  of 
Mr.  Russell's  persecution  of  his  wife  and  accounts  of  the 
trials  which  she  was  undergoing  for  the  Church's  sake 
into  the  ears  of  ready  sympathizers. 

From  the  bottom  of  her  heart  Hilda  pitied  the  Rector, 
and  admired  him  for  his  generous  and  dignified  attitude 
under  circumstances  so  trying  and  painful.  Of  his  own 
feelings,  since  the  day  when  he  had  come  to  Rome  and 
told  them  of  the  blow  which  had  fallen  upon  him,  he  had 
never  spoken  either  to  Hilda  or  Lord  Redman,  but  both 
could  read  in  his  face  the  sorrow  and  mortification  through 
which  he  was  passing.  Strangely  enough,  it  was  from 
Monsignor  Martini  that  Mr.  Russell  appeared  to  derive 
the  most  consolation  and  support.  The  two  had  met  in 
the  Via  Gaeta  on  several  occasions,  and  Walter  Redman 
had  told  the  Monsignore  the  story  of  the  Rector's 
troubles.  Lord  Redman  was  greatly  impressed  by  the 
way  in  which  the  latter  took  his  trials,  and  said  so  to 
the  priest. 

'  Ah ! '  Monsignor  Martini  had  replied,  '  that  man  is 
not  a  Protestant  or  a  Catholic;  he  is  simply  a  good 
Christian.  He  is  suffering  horribly,  wounded  alike  in 
his  love  for  his  wife  and  in  his  religious  convictions. 
I  believe  that  he  feels  the  slight  cast  upon  his  ministry 
more  than  he  does  the  betrayal  of  the  trust  which  should 
exist  between  husband  and  wife.' 

The  date  fixed  for  the  Redmans'  departure  from  Rome 
was  fast  approaching.  They  had  abandoned  their  original 
idea  of  going  to  Naples.     Tliere  had  been  so  much  to 


CASTING    OK    NETS  331 

occupy  their  days  in  Rome  that  Ilikla  had  felt  unwilling 
to  leave  it,  and  she  and  Walter  were  both  desirous  of 
seeing  the  great  ceremony  of  the  Canonization  of  Saints 
which  w\is  to  take  place  in  St.  Peter's,  and  form  the  chief 
among  the  ecclesiastical  spectacles  of  the  Anno  Santo. 

Hilda  had  duly  received  the  three  tickets  to  be  present 
at  the  ceremonial  which  had  been  promised  to  her,  and 
slie  and  her  husband  had  arranged  to  call  for  Monsignor 
Martini  on  their  way  to  the  basilica. 

By  the  time  they  arrived  at  St.  Peter's,  an  enormous 
crowd  had  assembled,  and  those  who  possessed  tickets 
were  endeavouring  to  make  their  way  through  it,  in 
order  to  reach  the  doors  of  the  church.  Companies 
of  the  soldiers  of  United  Italy  were  drawn  up  in  the 
piazza  and  at  the  entrance  to  the  basilica,  their  patience 
and  courtesy  contrasting  favourably  with  the  ill-manners 
and  selfishness  displayed  by  the  Seminarists  and  pilgrims 
who  at  intervals  made  futile  attempts  to  break  through 
the  military  cordon,  hustling  and  ill-treating  women  and 
children  in  their  mad  impatience  to  enter  the  building, 
and  insulting  the  Italian  soldiers  when  the  latter  were 
ordered  by  their  officers  to  close  up  and  make  them  await 
their  turn  to  pass  on. 

At  length  the  carriage  which  conveyed  Lord  and  Lady 
Redman  and  jMonsignor  Martini  reached  the  sacristy,  for 
which  ingress  their  tickets  w^ere  available,  and  a  few 
minutes  afterwards  they  found  themselves  inside  the  great 
church.  The  building  was  completely  transformed.  The 
marble  columns  and  pillars  WTrc  draped  with  red  damask. 
The  window^s  were  covered,  and  from  the  roof  hung 
innumerable  candelabra,  blazing  with  wax  candles,  while 


332  CASTING    OF    NETS 

over  the  apse  was  the  gloria  of  the  newly-made  saints  — 
a  painting  representing  their  miracles  —  surrounded  by 
rays  of  electric  light  from  countless  lamps.  In  front, 
opposite  the  High  Altar,  rose  the  Papal  throne,  and  to 
right  and  left  of  it  were  the  seats  for  the  Sacred  College 
of  Cardinals,  the  Archbishops,  Patriarchs,  and  high 
ecclesiastical  dignitaries  of  the  Papal  Court.  Behind 
these,  again,  were  the  tribunes  reserved  for  the  foreign 
Sovereigns  and  royalties,  the  Diplomatic  Corps  accredited 
to  the  Holy  See,  the  Roman  patriciate  and  high  officials 
of  the  Vatican,  and  immediately  to  the  right  of  the  throne 
were  the  posts  of  the  Grand  Master  and  Knights  of 
the  Sovereign  Order  of  Malta.  Behind  the  Confes- 
sional of  St.  Peter,  in  the  body  of  the  church,  rose 
the  vast  tribunes  devoted  to  the  pilgrims,  the  secular 
and  regular  clergy  of  Rome,  the  Seminarists,  and  the 
public ;  and  in  the  centre  a  broad  space,  patrolled  by 
chamberlains  and  soldiers  of  the  Swiss  and  Palatine 
Guards,  was  kept  clear  for  the  passing  of  the  Papal 
procession. 

The  organization  for  the  handling  of  the  many  thousands 
of  people  assembled  in  St.  Peter's  was  admirable,  and,  once 
inside  the  church,  the  Redmans  and  Monsignor  Martini 
were  able  to  find  their  seats  without  delay.  There  was 
yet  more  than  an  hour  to  elapse  before  the  time  fixed  for 
the  commencement  of  the  ceremony,  and  Monsignor  Mar- 
tini had  warned  Hilda  that  Leo  XIII.  was  invariably 
unpunctual. 

'  In  that,'  he  observed,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  '  the 
Pope  is  a  true  Italian.' 

Hilda  occupied  herself  with  looking  at  the  brilliant  spec- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  ^^3 

tacic  wliich  the  great  basilica  i^rcscnted.  The  pompous 
vulgarity  of  the  interior  of  the  church  had  given  place  to 
an  effect  even  less  suitable  to  a  sacred  edifice.  The  hang- 
ings and  the  draperies,  the  glass  chandeliers,  and  the  de- 
vices of  electric  light,  gave  her  the  impression  of  being  in 
some  colossal  nuisic-liall,  or  in  an  opera  house  prei)ared, 
with  doubtful  taste,  for  a  giUa  rei)resentati()n.  From  the 
tribune  in  which  their  seats  were  situated  the  statue  of  St. 
Peter  was  plainly  visible.  A  mitre  had  been  placed  on  the 
bronze  head  of  the  figure,  and  a  rich,  bejewelled  cope  hung 
stiffly  from  its  shoulders,  an  offence  to  the  art  of  the 
sculptor. 

Monsignor  Martini  watched  Hilda's  countenance. 

'  You  have  come  to  witness  a  pagan  ceremony  in  Chris- 
tian dress,'  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  as  he  followed  her  gaze 
and  saw  that  it  was  fixed  upon  the  grotesque  figure  sup- 
posed to  represent  the  chief  of  the  Apostles.  '  I  have  al- 
ways thought,'  he  added,  '  that  statue,  when  robed  in  the 
pontifical  vestments,  to  be  typical  of  our  Roman  faith  and 
system,  the  pagan  form  clothed  with  the  emblems  of  Chris- 
tian sacerdotalism.' 

As  the  hour  at  which  the  Pope  was  expected  to  make 
his  entry  into  the  basilica  approached,  the  scene  increased 
in  brilliancy  and  animation.  The  clash  of  steel  resounded 
as  the  Papal  Guards  presented  arms  to  the  ambassadors 
and  ministers  accredited  to  the  Holy  See,  who  arrived  in 
quick  succession,  followed  by  their  staffs,  their  uniforms 
blazing  with  stars  and  orders.  Then  a  gleam  of  scarlet  and 
white  flashed  through  the  ranks  of  black-veiled  women 
and  men  clad  in  their  evening  dress,  as  the  Grand  ^faster 
of  ^lalta,  received  with  sovereign  honours,  and  his  at  ten- 


334  CASTING    OF    NETS 

dant  knights,  were  escorted  to  the  places  reserved  for  the 
Order.  Suddenly  a  quiver  of  excitement  ran  through  the 
church,  and  the  great  mass  of  human  beings  seemed  to 
sway  and  heave  like  the  swell  of  the  sea.  Cries  of  ^  Viva 
il  Papa-Re ! '  were  raised  by  fanatical  Seminarists  and 
Ultramontanes,  to  be  hushed  down  by  those  standing 
around  them,  for  it  had  been  notified  that  the  Pope  did 
not  on  this  occasion  wish  to  be  greeted  by  the  cheers  and 
plaudits  which,  since  the  fall  of  the  temporal  power  of  the 
Papacy,  usually  accompany  his  appearance  in  St.  Peter's. 
Then  the  tempestuous  movement  of  the  crowd  subsided, 
and  the  murmurs  died  away  into  an  oppressive  silence. 
Every  head  was  turned  towards  the  great  doors  of  the 
portico,  by  which  the  Papal  procession  was  to  enter. 

Presently  the  strains  of  distant  chanting  fell  upon  the 
ears  of  the  listening  multitude,  faintly  audible  and  con- 
fused at  first,  but  gradually  growing  louder  and  more 
distinct.  A  glimmer  of  candles  slowly  advancing  marked 
the  approach  of  the  procession  preceding  that  of  the  Papal 
Court  which  escorted  the  Pontiff  himself.  Two  by  two 
the  Regular  Clergy  entered  the  basilica  —  first  those  of 
the  Mendicant  Orders,  the  Augustinians,  Capuchins,  Fran- 
ciscans, Carmelites,  Dominicans,  and  many  more ;  and 
following  these  the  Monastic  Orders  —  the  Olivetans, 
Benedictines,  Cistercians ;  the  Canons  of  St.  John  Lateran, 
the  Cathedral  Church  of  Rome,  bringing  up  the  rear. 

Preceded  by  a  cross-bearer  and  two  acolytes,  there  fol- 
lowed in  endless  array  the  parish  priests  and  Vicars  of 
Rome ;  behind  these  came  the  Canons  and  dignitaries  of 
the  collegiate  churches  and  basilicas,  with  the  secular 
clergy  attached  to  them  ;  and  at  their  head  the  Cardinal- 


CASTING    OF    NKTS  ^35 

Vicar  of  the  Eternal  City  and  ofTicials  of  the  CUiria.  Slowly 
the  lonj;  procession  advanced  up  the  centre  of  the  basilica, 
each  member  of  it  carryin*;  a  li<,Hited  candle  in  his  hand. 
Uoligious  confraternities,  with  their  banners,  and  person- 
a<;cs  belun«,'in^  to  the  families  and  Keli.<;i(jus  Orders  of 
those  about  to  be  canonized,  formed  the  rearicuard  of  this 
army  of  clerics. 

A  pause,  and  the  hynm  Ave  Maris  Stella  echoed 
through  the  church,  sung  by  the  Papal  choir,  who  entered 
heralding  the  coming  of  the  Pope.  Following  them  were 
two  of  the  Swiss  Guard  in  full  uniform,  and  a  pontifical 
Master  of  the  Ceremonies.  Then,  two  and  two  walked 
the  Papal  Chamberlains,  the  Pope's  confessor  and  domestic 
preacher,  and  his  chaplains  bearing  the  triple  crowns  and 
jewelled  mitres  of  the  Head  of  Christendom,  while  imme- 
diately after  these  came,  in  right  of  his  office,  the  jeweller 
to  the  Papal  Court. 

Next  in  order  advanced  the  high  ecclesiastics  of  the 
United  Greek  Rite,  a  deacon  bearing  aloft  the  Papal 
Cross,  surrounded  by  seven  dignitaries  acting  as  acolytes 
and  carrying  seven  candelabra  with  burning  and  richly- 
ornamented  candles.  Before  the  penitentiaries  of  the 
Vatican  basilica  walked  two  priests,  holding  long  rods 
adorned  with  flowers,  emblematic  of  the  power  of  the 
former  to  chastise  consciences  and  to  temper  chastisement 
with  mercy. 

'I  notice,'  said  Walter  Redman,  as  the  group  passed 
them  and  Monsignor  Martini  explained  the  meaning  of  the 
rods,  '  that  the  flowers  are  sham.* 

Monsignor  Martini  gave  him  a  quick  glance  of  anmse- 
ment,  but  he  did  not  reply. 


236  CASTING    OF    NETS 

And  now  the  cortege  assumed  a  character  of  majestic 
brilliancy.  In  bewildering  succession  came  the  Abbots- 
General,  the  Bishops,  Archbishops,  Primates  and  Patri- 
archs, and  following  them  the  three  grades  of  the  Sacred 
College  of  Cardinals. 

The  strains  of  the  Ave  Maris  Stella  sound  ever  louder 
and  clearer,  and  from  the  trumpets  posted  above  the  en- 
trance ring  out  the  notes  of  the  Papal  March. 

The  Prince- Assistant  to  the  throne,  chief  of  the  ancient 
House  of  Colonna,  and  the  Vice-Chamberlain  of  the  Holy 
Church,  advance  alone,  followed  by  the  Apostolic  notaries, 
and  then  two  Cardinal-Deacons  and  the  Cardinal-Priest 
whose  office  it  is  to  assist  the  Pope  at  the  Mass  celebrated 
immediately  itfter  the  formal  declaration  of  canonization. 
After  these  walk  the  Masters  of  Ceremonies. 

And  then  from  beneath  the  portico  slowly  emerges  a 
group  more  brilliant  than  all  the  rest,  and  raised  high 
above  it  a  figure  of  dazzling  whiteness.  The  frail,  bent 
body  sits  on  the  Sedia  Gestatoria  bowed  down  beneath 
the  weight  of  the  rich  vestments,  and  the  triple  tiara, 
blazing  with  jewels,  crowns  the  snow-white  head.  It  is 
an  imposing  figure,  and  a  very  pathetic  one. 

Slowly  and  evenly  the  raised  throne  with  its  white 
occupant  seems  to  glide  through  the  kneeling  throng, 
and  the  Pope  passes,  holding  in  his  left  hand  a  lighted 
candle,  while  his  right  arm  is  upraised  in  blessing,  and 
the  long,  trembling  fingers  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  over 
the  prostrate  people.  Every  now  and  then  Leo  XIII. 
leans  back  as  though  exhausted,  and  those  who  do  not 
know  the  Pope  wonder  if  he  is  about  to  succumb  under 
the  physical  and  mental  strain.     But  the  keen  eyes  never 


CASTING    OF    NETS  337 

lose  their  intensity,  and  seem  to  pierce  tlie  fnrtliest  re- 
cesses of  the  vast  church.  The  smile,  wliicli  is  no  smile, 
is  always  there,  and  <:ji\'es  an  impression  of  benevolence 
belied  by  the  harsh  lines  of  the  mouth,  and  the  stern,  im- 
perious glance  which  gleams  from  under  the  white  brow. 

Around  the  Pope  walk  with  drawn  swords  the  officers 
of  the  Noble  (^uard,  while  beside  the  Sedia  Gestatoria 
are  borne  the  great  ostrich-feather  fans,  and  behind  it 
arc  the  Papal  physician  and  other  officers  of  the  Apos- 
tolic household.  Behind  these,  again,  walk  a  body  of 
choral  chaplains  chanting  the  *  Star  of  the  Sea/  and 
the  magnificent  procession  is  closed  by  the  Generals  of 
the  Religious  Orders. 

Contrary  to  the  usual  practice  when  the  Pope  descends 
in  St.  Peter's,  a  halt  is  not  made  at  the  Chapel  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  for  the  Pontiff  to  pray  before  the 
Host.  The  Vicegerent  of  God,  with  the  keys  of  heaven 
in  his  hand,  passes  triumphantly  on  his  way  to  his  throne, 
and  the  nations  gathered  together  in  St.  Peter's  bow  down 
in  reverence  before  the  human  being  who  is  about  to  open 
the  gates  of  heaven  and  to  increase  the  company  of  the 
Saints. 

With  stately  pomp  and  circumstance,  tlie  Papal  cortege 
moves  up  the  church,  and  in  front  of  the  altar  of  the  Con- 
fessional the  Sedia  Gestatoria  is  gently  lowered  to  the 
ground.  The  Pope  descends  from  it,  and  with  rapid, 
uneven  strides  advances  to  a  golden  faldstool,  at  which 
he  kneels  for  a  few  moments  in  prayer ;  then  rising,  he 
ascends  the  steps  of  the  throne  and  seats  himself  upon  it. 

The  Cardinals  advance  one  by  one  and  kiss  his  hand ; 
the  Patriarchs,  Primates,  Archbishops   and   Bishops  pay 

22 


338  CASTING    OF    NETS 

their  homage  by  kissing  the  cross  on  the  stole,  the  ends 
of  which  rest  on  the  Pontiff's  knees  ;  the  Ahhota-nuUms 
and  the  Abbots-General  kiss  his  foot.  Then  the  dignita- 
ries of  the  church  resume  their  places,  and  the  formalities 
of  the  making  of  Saints  commence. 

The  Cardinal-Procurator  of  the  canonization  advances 
towards  the  throne,  supported  by  a  Master  of  Cere- 
monies, and  a  consistorial  advocate.  Kneeling  before 
the  Pope,  he  petitions  the  latter  instanter  that  the 
candidates  for  canonization  may  be  inscribed  by  His 
Holiness  among  Christ's  Saints,  and  that  they  may  be 
venerated  as  Saints  by  all  the  faithful. 

The  Secretary  of  Briefs,  standing  on  the  steps  of  the 
throne,  replies  for  the  Pope  in  Latin.  He  informs  the 
Cardinal-Procurator  that  the  virtues  and  merits  of  the 
proposed  candidates  are  known  to  the  Holy  Father,  as 
also  are  the  miracles  performed  by  them.  Before,  how- 
ever. His  Holiness  can  pronounce  upon  a  matter  of  such 
gravity,  he  exhorts  ail  present  to  implore  that  the  Divine 
aid  may  be  vouchsafed  to  him  through  the  intercession 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  the  Celestial  Court.  The  Cardinal-Procurator 
returns  to  his  seat.  The  Pope  kneels  once  more  at  the 
faldstool  before  the  altar  while  the  Litany  of  the  Saints 
is  chanted. 

At  the  close  of  the  Litany,  His  Holiness  returns  to  the 
throne,  and  the  Cardinal-Procurator  advances  with  the 
same  ceremony,  and  repeats  his  petition,  substituting  for 
the  word  instanter  the  comparative  term  instantius. 

The  Secretary  of  Briefs  replies  that  His  Holiness, 
realizing  the  importance  and  greatness  of  the  act  which 


CASTING    OF    NKTS  339 

he  is  about   to   perform,  implores  the  help  of  the   Holy 
Ghost,  the  soiiree  of  illumiiiJitioii  Jind  of  wisdom. 

The  Pope,  assuminjj;  the  mitre,  kneels  before  the  altar, 
while  the  first  Assisting  Cardinal-Deacon  says  in  a  loud 
voice :  ^  Orate.'  Removing  the  mitre,  the  Pope  prays 
while  the  Miserere  is  being  sung,  only  rising  from  his 
knees  when  the  second  Cardinal- Deacon  exclaims:  '  Lc- 
vatc.'  All  present  rise  with  the  Pope.  Two  J^ishops 
approach  him  with  book  and  candles,  and  he  intones 
the  Veni  Creator  Spirltus.  At  the  close  of  the  hymn 
the  Pope  resumes  his  seat  on  the  throne,  and  the  solemn 
moment  of  ratification  of  the  canonization  approaches. 

The  Cardinal-Procurator  kneels  before  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  a  third  time,  and  the  consistorial  advocate  a  third 
time  repeats  the  petition,  adding  to  the  terms  imtanter^ 
instantius,  the  superlative  instantissime. 

The  Secretary  of  Briefs  replies  that  His  Holiness,  per- 
suaded that  the  canonization  prayed  for  is  pleasing  to 
God,  deigns  to  pronounce  definitely  upon  the  matter. 
At  these  words  all  rise  to  their  feet.  The  mitred  Pontiff 
speaks  ex  cathedrd,  and,  as  Head  of  the  Universal  Church, 
delivers  his  infallible  judgment. 

The  voice  of  the  old  man  of  ninety  years  rings  out 
clear  and  strong,  and  a  great  hush  falls  upon  the  vast 
crowd.  It  is  the  Vice-God  who  is  speaking  now,  he 
who  has  power  to  loose  and  to  bind,  to  save  and  to  de- 
stroy, wdiose  authority  reaches  beyond  the  grave,  even 
through  the  cycles  of  eternity. 

The  Pope  emphasizes  the  Latin  words  with  a  peculiar 
con\nilsive  movement  of  his  frail  body.  The  white  arms 
are  uplifted,  and  the  eyes  of  60,000  people  are  riveted 


340  CASTING    OF    NETS 

upon  the  figure  of  this  old  man  who  is  speaking,  not 
with  the  tongue  of  Count  Gioacchino  Pecci,  whom  the 
world  calls  Leo  XIII.,  but  with  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 

'Ad  honorem  Sanctae  et  Individuae  Trinitatis,  ad  exal- 
tationem  Fidei  Catholicae,  et  Christian^e  Religionis  augmen- 
tum,  auctoritate  Domini  Nostri  Jesu  Christi,  Beatorum 
Apostolorum  Petri  et  Pauli  ac  Nostra  ;  matura  deliberatione 
prffibabita  et  Diviua  Ope  sa^pius  implorata,  ac  de  Venera- 
bilium  Fratrum  Nostrorum  Sanctse  Romanse  Ecclesi?e  Car- 
dinalium,  Patriarcharum,  Archiepiscoporum  et  Episcoporum 
in  Urbe  existentium  consilio,  Beatos  Ritam  a  Cassia,  et 
Johannem  Baptistam  de  la  Salle  Confessores,  Sanctos  esse 
decernimus  et  definimus  ac  Sanctorum  Catologo  adscribimus. 
...  In  nomine  Patris  et  Filii  et  Spiritus  Sancti.     Amen.'  ^ 

The  infallible  decree  has  gone  forth,  and  the  new 
Saints  are  elevated  to  the  honours  of  the  altar.  Leo 
XIII.  sinks  back  on  his  throne  as  if  exhausted,  but  the 
keen  eyes  are  gleaming  with  a  scarcely  concealed  satis- 
faction. The  Cardinal- Procurator  and  consistorial  advo- 
cate kneel  again  at  his  feet.  The  latter  thanks  the  Pope 
in  the  Cardinal's  name,  and  begs  of  him  yet  one  more 
favour,  namely  the  direction  of  Letters  Apostolic  con- 
firming the  dignity  of  the  newly-canonized.  The  Holy 
Father  signifies  his  consent,  and  the  Cardinal-Procurator 

1  *  In  honour  of  tlie  Holy  and  Indivisible  Trinity,  for  the  exaltation 
of  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  for  the  increase  of  the  Christian  Religion,  by 
the  authority  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  the  blessed  Apostles,  Peter 
and  Paul,  and  by  Our  own  Authority  ;  after  mature  deliberation,  and 
after  havincr  implored  the  Divine  Assistance,  having  heard  the  judgment 
of  Our  Venerable  brothers,  the  Cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  the 
Patriarchs,  Archbishops  and  Bishops  present  in  the  City,  we  decree  and 
name  Saints,  and  inscribe  in  the  Calendar  of  the  Saints,  the  blessed  Rita 
da  Cascia  and  Jean  Baptiste  de  la  Salle.  ...  In  the  Name  of  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  th^  Holy  Spirit.     Amen.* 


CASTING    OF    NETS  341 

ascends  the  steps  of  the  throne,  and,  witli  a  profound 
genuflection,  kisses  the  hands  and  the  knees  of  the 
Supreme  Pontift'. 

Then  the  Pope,  risin^,',  intones  the  first  strophe  of  the 
Te  Deum,  A  flourish  of  trumpets  sounds  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  dome,  followed  by  the  boominf^  of  the  great 
bolls  of  the  basilica,  while  all  the  bells  of  Rome  peal  and 
clash  in  response  to  the  signal  from  St.  Peter's,  announc- 
ing to  the  city  that  the  gates  of  heaven  have  opened 
once  more  at  the  bidding  of  the  Pontifex  Maxinms. 

Hilda  and  her  husband  followed  attentively  each  suc- 
cessive portion  of  the  ceremony,  while  Consignor  jMartini 
explained  to  them  its  significance.  Their  places  were 
near  enough  to  the  Papal  throne  to  enable  them  to 
observe  the  features  and  bearing  of  its  occupant. 

^  Does  he  believe  in  his  own  power  ?  '  whispered  Walter, 
as,  after  pronouncing  the  Apostolic  Benediction,  the  Pope 
retired  for  a  few  minutes  to  rest  and  take  his  usual  cup 
of  soup  before  the  Mass  succeeding  the  canonization 
should  commence. 

'Does  he  not !' answered  Monsignor  Martini.  'Could 
you  look  at  the  expression  of  his  face  when  he  said  the 
words  "  and  by  Our  own  authority,"  and  doubt  it  ?  Leo 
XIIT.  is  a  profound  believer  in  his  own  infallibility  — 
more  so,  perhaps,  than  Pius  IX.  was.  When,  after  the 
promulgation  of  the  dogma  of  Infallibility,  a  prelate  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted,  and  who  made  no  secret  of  his 
disbelief  in  it,  ventured  to  ask  Pio  Mono  whether  he 
believed  himself  to  be  infallible,  the  answer  he  received 
was  this:   "I,  Mastai  Ferretti,  believe  that  the  Pope  is 


342  CASTING    OF    NETS 

infallible."  The  note  of  sarcasm  is  lost  in  the  English, 
nor  can  the  look  of  humour  which  accompanied  the 
remark  be  reproduced.  Are  you  impressed  by  this  cere- 
mony, Lady  Redman?'  he  added,  turning  to  Hilda. 

'■  I  am  deeply  interested,  but  not  impressed.  I  feel  as 
if  I  were  at  the  theatre,  and  that  nothing  around  me 
is  real,'  she  replied.  ^No  doubt  these  terrible  decora- 
tions give  one  that  idea,'  she  continued;  *and  then  one 
doubts  whether  it  can  be  true  that  any  human  being 
possesses  so  much  power  over  the  future  life  as  is  implied 
by  what  we  have  just  seen.  Do  you  believe  it,  Monsig- 
nore  ? '  she  asked  suddenly  in  a  lovv  voice. 

Monsignor  Martini  hesitated  and  looked  around  him 
almost  nervously. 

'Rome  has  always  professed  to  exercise  authority  in 
the  next  world,'  he  replied,  with  a  smile.  '  Ceesar  had 
believers  in  his  divinity,  as  Leo  has  in  his  supernatural 
powers.' 

At  this  moment  the  Pope  reappeared. 

'  Some  of  the  most  curious  ceremonies  have  yet  to 
come,'  continued  Monsignor  Martini. 

On  a  credence-table  at  the  left-hand  side  of  the  altar 
were  placed  the  effigies  of  the  new  Saints,  with  the 
Papal  arms  beneath.  Enormous  wax  candles  lay  on  the 
table,  two  of  which  weighed  no  less  than  sixty  pounds, 
while  the  remainder  weighed  twelve  pounds.  Beside 
these  were  two  large  loaves  of  bread,  one  gilded,  the 
other  silvered,  on  magnificent  golden  dishes,  a  gold  and  a 
silver  barrel,  the  one  containing  wine  and  the  other  water, 
and  three  gilded  bird-cages,  in  which  were  respectively 
turtle-doves,  pigeons,  and  small  birds  of  various  species. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  343 

Durin;^'  the  t)irL'rt()r}'  uf  the  Mass,  the  Cardiniils  and 
otlicrs  selected  fur  the  olliee  advanced  to  the  table, 
their  right  hands  covered  with  a  small  white  napkin. 
Then,  preceded  l»y  two  I\)ntitical  Usliers  and  a  Master 
of  Ceremonies,  and  escorted  by  Ids  Gentlemen-in-Waiting, 
bearing  the  two  huge  candles,  a  Cardinal-Dishop  advanced 
to  the  foot  of  the  throne.  He  was  followed  by  two 
monks  belonging  to  the  Religious  Orders  of  the  canon- 
ized, one  of  whom  bore  a  smaller  candle,  while  the 
other  carried  the  cage  containing  the  pigeons.  A  similar 
procession,  headed  by  a  Cardinal-priest,  and  a  third, 
escorting  a  Cardinal-Deacon,  followed,  the  former  bearing 
the  turtle-iloves,  and  the  latter  the  barrels  containing  the 
water  and  the  wine.  Finally,  the  Cardinal-Procurator 
advanced  with  the  offering  of  smaller  wax  candles  and 
the  cage  of  little  singing-birds. 

Each  of  the  gifts  was  presented  in  its  order  to  the 
Holy  Father,  the  donors  kissing  his  hand  and  knees. 

^  The  wax  candles,'  explained  Monsignor  INIartini, 
'signify  the  flesh  of  Christ.  As  wax,  the  work  of 
bees,  is  created  from  the  purest  substance  of  flowers 
and  is  incorruptible,  so  the  flesh  of  Christ,  derived 
from  Ilis  Immaculate  ■Mother,  is  incorruptible.  The 
liame  of  the  candle  symbolizes  His  Divinity,  and  also 
the  ardour  for  Him  which  should  burn  within  us.  The 
oblation  of  the  bread  indicates  that  the  Saints  care  for 
no  other  food  save  that  of  the  Body  of  Christ  in  the 
Sacrament.  It  is  a  symbol,  also,  of  their  charity.  The 
wine  signifies  the  abundance  of  grace  poured  forth  upon 
them,  and  is  also  an  allusion  to  the  mystic  vineyard  of  the 
Lord;  the  water  represents  the  sorrows  and  tribulations 


344  CASTING    OF    NETS 

of  life,  and  also  purity,  wisdom,  grace  and  eternal  salva- 
tion. The  turtle-doves  are  emblematic  of  fidelity,  and, 
since  they  are  garrulous  birds,  of  the  gift  of  preaching/ 

Monsignor  Martini's  eyes  twinkled  as  he  proffered 
the  last  explanation,  and  Walter  Redman  was  obliged  to 
restrain  his  laughter. 

^  They  also  signify,'  he  continued,  ^  purity,  grief,  and 
love  of  solitude.  The  pigeons  are  symbolic  of  charity, 
and  also,  according  to  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  of  the 
seven  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  little  birds  re- 
present the  winged  flight  of  the  Saints  towards  heaven, 
the  perpetual  song  in  praise  of  the  Most  High.  There 
are  countless  other  significations  which  theologians 
have  pretended  to  discover  in  these  mystic  offerings,' 
he  concluded,  'but  I  shall  not  try  your  patience  by 
enumerating  them.' 

The  wearisome  formalities  of  the  Pontifical  Mass  at  last 
came  to  an  end.  The  dressing  and  undressing  of  the 
officiating  ecclesiastics,  and  the  perpetual  genuflections, 
were  over,  and  the  Papal  procession  re-formed  itself.  The 
Pope  reseated  himself  on  the  Sedia  Gestatoria,  and  with  the 
same  pomp  and  magnificence  as  had  characterized  its  en- 
trance, the  Papal  Court  prepared  to  leave  St.  Peter's. 
Once  again  the  white-robed  figure,  tripled-crowned,  raised 
itself  upon  trembling  hands,  and  made  great  sweeping 
signs  of  the  cross  over  the  prostrate  multitude.  Then  the 
pent-up  feelings  of  the  thousands  who  thronged  the  basilica 
burst  forth  into  a  storm  of  applause  and  cheering.  Women 
and  men  threw  themselves  on  their  knees  and  bowed  their 
faces  to  the  earth  as  the  Vicar  of  Christ  passed  by.  The 
pale,  transparent  face  was   suffused  by  a  faint  glow  of 


CASTING    OF    NETS  345 

colour,  the  white  hiiiul,  with  the  iliainoiuls  of  the  episcopal 
ring  glittering  in  the  artitieiiil  light,  was  raised  again  and 
again  in  blessing,  and  for  the  first  time  the  penetrating 
expression  of  the  eyes  softened.  Then,  as  the  ostrich  fans 
disappeared  under  the  portico  of  the  church,  a  great  shout 
of  *  Viva  il  Papa !  Ev^'iva  il  Papa-Re  ! '  rent  the  air,  and 
Leo  XII 1.  was  borne  away  to  his  self-imposed  captivity 
within  the  Vatican. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

IT  was  two  o'clock  before  Walter  and  Hilda  found  them- 
selves back  ill  the  Via  Gaeta  after  the  long  ceremony 
in  St.  Peter's.  They  brought  Monsignor  Martini  back  to 
luncheon  with  them,  and  all  three  were  more  than  ready 
for  the  meal,  for  the  canonization  had  lasted  nearly  five 
hours,  and  they  had  breakfasted  early  in  order  to  be  at  the 
basilica  in  good  time. 

Walter  had  made  an  appointment  that  afternoon  with 
Prince  Brancaleone  to  visit  a  horse-breeding  establishment 
belonging  to  the  latter,  situated  a  few  miles  out  of  Rome, 
and  as  soon  as  luncheon  was  over  he  left  Monsignor  Mar- 
tini and  Hilda  together,  and  drove  down  to  the  Palazzo 
Montelupi. 

IVIonsignor  Martini  was  about  to  take  his  departure  also, 
but  Hilda  begged  him  not  to  do  so. 

'I  am  not  going  out  this  afternoon,'  she  said  to  him ; 
Hhis  morning's  function  was  quite  enough  for  one  day. 
Will  you  not  stop  a  little  while  and  talk  to  me,  Mon- 
signore  ?  * 

'With  great  pleasure,'  he  replied;  and  the  two  went  to 
the  drawing-room  together  as  Walter  Redman  left  the 
house. 

'  Have  you  seen  anything  more  of  Mr.  Russell  ? '  asked 
Hilda  presently. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  347 

*  Yes,'  answered  Monsignor  Miirtini ;  '  he  has  been 
several  times  to  see  nie.  It  ap|)ears  that  he  and  liis  wife 
are  going  to  leave  Rome  in  a  day  or  two.  She  was  in 
St.  Peter's  this  morning ;  1  saw  her  with  Mrs.  St.  liCger 
as  we  went  in.  JUit  you  have  uot  seen  Mrs.  Russell,  I 
suppose  ?  '  he  added. 

'No,'  said  Hilda.  'To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  have 
avoided  her.  1  feel  too  angry  with  her  to  go  and  see  her. 
Do  you  think  that  very  wrong  of  me,  Monsignore  ? ' 

'You  are  one  of  her  persecutors,'  replied  Monsignor 
Martini,  with  a  smile. 

'I?' 

'So  I  hear.  Mrs.  Russell  is  quite  a  heroine  in  your 
Endish  Catholic  world  in  Rome.  I  have  been  asked  if  it 
was  true  that  her  husband  turned  her  out  into  the  street, 
or,  rather,  I  was  told  so  as  a  fact,  and  my  reply  was  not 
listened  to.  Lady  Mertou  is — what  is  your  expression? 
—  "  running,"  is  it  not  ?  —  yes,  running  her  as  a  persecuted 
convert ;  and  she  has  been  presented  to  the  Pope  as  such. 
People  say  that  her  husband  will  give  her  no  money,  and 
that  Lady  INIerton's  charity  keeps  her  from  starving.' 

Hilda  laughed,  notwithstanding  her  indignation. 

'  I  wonder  if  the  Pope  was  told  that,'  she  said. 

'Certainly  he  will  have  been  told  it,'  said  Monsignor 
Martini.  'He  will  have  given  her  his  benediction,  the 
poor  man  I '  he  added,  with  a  little  outbreak  of  Roman 
sarcasm. 

Hilda  Redman  was  silent  for  a  few  moments,  during 
which  she  looked  at  the  priest  as  though  debating  in  her 
mind  whether  she  should  speak  her  thoughts  or  not. 

' Monsignore,'  she  said  at  length   hesitatingly,   'I    am 


348  CASTING    OF    NETS 

glad  we  are  alone  together  this  afternoon.  In  a  few  days 
my  husband  and  I  will  have  left  Rome,  and  I  have  always 
had  something  on  my  mind  about  which  I  have  been  long- 
ing to  ask  for  your  help  and  advice.' 

Monsignor  Martini's  satirical  manner  left  him  in  an 
instant. 

*  I  shall  be  very  glad  if  I  can  be  of  any  help  to  you, 
Lady  Redman,'  he  said  gently ;  '  but  as  to  my  advice  — 
well,  I  am  afraid  that  it  is  not  worth  very  much.  I 
am  not  going  to  ask  you  what  it  is  you  wish  to  con- 
sult me  about,  for,  instead  of  your  telling  me,  I  think  it 
would  be  easier  if  I  told  you.  You  can  tell  me  if  I  am 
mistaken/ 

Hilda  nodded  her  head  without  speaking. 

'  We  have  had  many  conversations  together/  continued 
Monsignor  Martini,  '  and  though  you  have  never  said  as 
much  to  me,  I  have  gathered  from  them  that  you  do  not 
see  your  way  clearly  before  you.  You  came  to  Rome  hop- 
ing to  see  it  more  clearly,  and  you  are  disappointed.  Is  it 
not  so  ? ' 

'Yes,'  exclaimed  Hilda  eagerly,  'more  than  disap- 
pointed.* 

Monsignor  Martini  gave  a  little  sigh. 

'  Disgusted  perhaps  ? '  he  replied.  '  Well,'  he  continued, 
'  I  have  known  many  people  in  your  position,  but  most  of 
them  have  not  had  the  courage  to  confess  to  it.  But  what 
do  you  fear  from  this  feeling,  Lady  Redman  ? ' 

'  That  it  has  caused  me  to  lose  my  faith  in  the  Church,' 
replied  Hilda,  in  a  low  voice.  '  That  is  a  terrible  thing 
to  say,  is  it  not  ? '  she  added.  '  You  will  tell  me  that  I 
should  not  think  —  that  I  should  only  accept  and  obey ; 


CASTING    OF    NI:TS  349 

and  I  miglit  do  so  if  I   li:id  only  myself  to  consider,  but 

there  are  others  —  my  husband,  and '      She  stopped 

confusedly. 

'I  quite  understand,'  said  Monsignor  Martini  quietly; 
and  then  he  added,  '  I  will  ask  you  the  question  that  I 
have  more  than  once  asked  your  husband  when  we  have 
discussed  these  things  together.  What  do  you  mean  by 
"  the  Church  "  ? ' 

^Why,  our  Church,  the  Roman  Church,  of  course/ 
replied  Hilda. 

'  And  you  have  lost  your  faith  in  the  Roman  Church,' 
repeated  Monsignor  Martini.     '  Why  ?  ' 

Hilda  looked  at  him  with  some  surprise.  His  voice 
was  very  gentle,  and  she  could  not  help  thinking  how 
differently  Father  Galsworthy  or  Father  Vincent  would 
have  received  such  a  confession.  His  manner  had 
undergone  no  alteration.  He  was  still  the  man,  not 
the  ecclesiastic. 

'  Why  ?  '  he  asked  again,  and  as  his  clear  brown  eyes 
met  her  own  Hilda  read  no  look  of  stern  condemnation 
in  them,  but  only  sympathy,  and  perhaps  a  little  sadness. 
Then  she  told  him  all  the  story  of  her  married  life ;  how 
she  had  been  assured  that  Lord  Redman  would  certainly 
become  a  Catholic  if  she  married  him ;  how  quickly  she 
had  realized  that  nothing  was  further  from  his  thoughts 
and  intentions,  and  the  pressure  which  had  been  brought 
to  bear  upon  her  to  make  her  break  her  promise  to  her 
husband  and  force  her  to  convert  him  to  Catholicism. 
She  told  him  of  the  mental  struggle  through  which  she 
had  passed,  and  of  her  interviews  with  the  Dominican  at 
Abbotsbridge  and  with  the  Oratorian  in  London. 


350  CASTING    OF    NETS 

Monsignor  Martini  listened  in  silence.  Once  or  twice 
he  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand  and  appeared  to  be 
thinking  deeply. 

'  And  then/  continued  Hilda,  ^  I  came  to  Rome.  It 
was  a  mistake,  I  think.  Had  I  never  done  so,  I  should 
still  have  been  able  to  believe  in  the  Church.  I  told 
myself  that  what  I  had  undergone  in  England  I  had 
undergone  at  the  hands  of  fanatical  converts,  but  that 
at  Rome  I  should  find  the  true  Catholic  Church.  You 
ask  me  why  I  have  lost  my  faith,  Monsignore.  I  have 
lost  it  by  coming  to  Rome.  Luther  lost  it  in  the  same 
way,  did  he  not  ?  I  thought  that  Rome  would  strengthen 
my  belief  in  the  Church  ;  I  even  dreamed  that  our  being  here 
together  might  lead  my  husband  to  become  a  Catholic. 
When  I  was  a  girl  I  used  to  picture  to  myself  the  Vatican 
and  the  Pope.  Well,  the  Vatican  is  a  political  and  a 
money-making  machine,  and  the  Pope Can  a  rea- 
sonable human  being  witness  such  a  scene  as  that  of  this 
morning  without  a  smile  at  the  folly  and  at  the  arrogance 
of  it  ?  Those  priests  —  you  saw  them  —  they  were  laugh- 
ing, as  they  laugh  at  the  credulity  of  the  poor  pilgrims 
and  at  the  superstition  of  the  peasants  at  the  Ara  Coeli 
or  in  Sant  Agostino.  One  cannot  see  such  things  and 
believe ' 

'  In  our  Roman  system  ?  Perhaps  not,'  interposed 
Monsignor  Martini  calmly. 

'And  then,'  continued  Hilda,  'all  the  heartless  deceit 
which  has  attended  Mrs.  Russell's  conversion.  Do  you 
know,  Monsignore,  that  the  last  time  I  called  on  my 
grandmother  in  the  Via  Gregoriana  they  were  congratu- 
lating themselves  on  the  mortification  it  must  be  to  Mr. 


CAsriNc;  OF   ni:ts         351 

Russell  as  an  Aii«^lic;iii  clcr<^yman  to  foci  that  liis  wife 
disbelieved  in  his  ('hurch  and  in  the  validity  uf  iiis  Orders. 
That  shocked  nic  more  than  1  can  tell  you,  for  I  know 
wliat  a  cruel  blow  it  has  been  to  Mr.  Russell,  and  how 
generously  he  has  forgiven  his  wife's  want  of  confidcnec 
in  liini.  I  am  no  theologian,  and  therefore  I  cannot  reason 
on  points  of  dogma,  but  I  cannot  believe  in  a  system  which 
tolerates  and  encourages  such  deception  as  I  see  around 
me  here  in  Rome.  Is  it  possible  that  it  can  be  right  to 
allow  the  uneducated  to  believe  in  thinirs  which  those 
who  countenance  them  must  know  in  their  hearts  to  be 
impostures?  I  know  the  excuse  which  is  made  for  doing 
so  —  that  if  the  people  were  not  allowed  to  believe  in  their 
miraculous  shrines  and  images  they  would  believe  in  noth- 
ing at  all.  But  would  such  an  excuse  be  made  if  those 
superstitions  were  not  productive  of  money,  and  if  they 
did  not  keep  the  masses  under  the  domination  of  the 
Church?  It  does  not  strike  one  in  England  that  one 
belongs  to  such  a  system.  English  Catholicism  seems 
to  be  so  different.  But  since  I  have  been  in  Rome  I 
see  Catholicism  as  it  is.  My  reasons  for  doubting  must 
appear  to  you  very  superficial,  very  foolish  —  a  woman's 
reasons,  do  they  not  ? ' 

Monsignor  Martini  looked  at  lier  attentively. 

'  What  do  you  want  my  advice  upon  ?  '  he  asked. 

*Can  anything  justify  a  Catliolic  mother  in  consenting 
to  her  child  being  brought  up  in  another  religion?'  she 
said  hurriedly. 

'  Have  you  been  asked  to  do  so,  I^ady  Redman  ? 

'No;  Walter  —  my  husband  —  would  never  ask  it  of 
me,  but * 


352  CASTING    OF    NETS 

'  But  he  would  wish  it,  you  tliiuk  ? ' 
'  Yes.     When  he  married  me  he  did  not  care,  or  he 
thought  that  he  did  not.' 
'  And  now  ?  ' 
'  Now  he  does  care.     I  am  glad  that  he  does.' 

*  Why  should  you  be  glad? '  asked  Monsignor  Martini. 
Hilda  looked  at  him  quickly. 

'  Is  it  not  better  that  he  should  care  ? '  she  said.  '  He 
used  to  be  so  indifferent.  But  for  some  time,  ever  since 
my  illness  last  year,  I  think,  I  have  felt  sure  that  he  is  not 
indifferent  any  longer.  If  my  child  had  lived,  he  would 
not  have  placed  any  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its  being  brought 
up  a  Catholic.     He  would  never  break  his  promise.' 

'  Do  you  want  him  to  break  it  ?  ' 

Hilda  started  slightly  at  the  question. 

*  No,'  she  replied.  '  It  must  be  my  doing ;  I  want  to 
absolve  him  from  it.  Nobody  but  I  can  do  so ;  but  I 
can,  can  I  not,  Monsignore  ? ' 

'  You  can  do  so  —  yes,'  replied  Monsignor  Martini 
slowly,  '  by  abandoning  the  faith  in  which  you  have 
been  brought  up.' 

'  By  leaving  the  Church  ?  ' 

'  By  leaving  the  Roman  Church.  Under  no  other 
circumstances  could  you  absolve  your  husband  from  his 
promise.  As  I  understand  it,  the  Roman  Church  in 
England  exacts  a  pledge  from  those  who  make  a  mixed 
marriage  that  all  the  children  of  the  marriage  shall  be 
baptized  and  brought  up  Roman  Catholics.  It  appears 
to  me  to  be  not  only  a  very  intolerant  exaction,  but  also 
a  very  short-sighted  policy  ;  but  I  am  not  of  your  nation.' 

Hilda  leaned  back  in  her  chair  with  a  sigh. 


CASTING    OF    NETS  3S3 

'  I  dare  say  that  you  caniiut  uiKlcrstaiid,'  who  said 
presently.  '  My  husband  naturally  (lislikes  the  iilea  of 
liis  name  and  estates  passing  into  Jlonian  Catholie 
hands.  He  is  devoted  to  Abbotshury,  and  all  the 
people  tliere  arc  devoted  to  him ;  and  besides,  tlierc 
are  family  traditions  to  which  I  am  sure  he  clinj^s, 
more  especially  after  the  experiences  which  he  has  had 
of  Catholicism  since  he  married  me.  Why  should  a  sou 
uot  be  brought  up  in  his  father's  faith,  Monsignore  ? 
When  that  faith  is  a  Christian  one,  what  can  it  matter  ? 
This  exaction  on  the  part  of  the  Church  in  England  is 
of  very  recent  origin.  A  few  years  ago  Walter's  sons 
would  have  been  brought  up  members  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  his  daughters  in  their  mother's  religion.' 

'  But  what  leads  you  to  suppose  that  Lord  Redman 
has  any  stronger  feelings  on  the  subject  than  he  had 
when  he  married  you  ? '  asked  Monsignor  IMartini. 

*  I  know  it,'  replied  Hilda.  *  I  cannot  tell  you  how. 
Walter  is  so  loyal  that  he  never  would  speak  to  me  on 
the  subject  unless  I  forced  him  to  do  so.  But,  all  the 
same,  the  thought  of  the  future  is  troubling  him.  Per- 
haps the  birth  of  our  stillborn  son  brought  things  lionic 
to  him.  I  cannot  tell,  but  I  often  think  that  his  indiftcr- 
encc  to  religion  gradually  left  him  after  that.  You 
have  seen  so  much  of  him  since  we  have  been  in  Rome, 
Monsignore,  and  no  doubt  he  has  talked  to  you  more 
openly  than  he  has  felt  able  to  do  to  me.' 

She  paused,  and  looked  at  the  priest  almost  wistfully. 
IMonsignor  Martini  moved  uneasily  in  his  chair.  At 
last  he  got  up  and  walked  to  the  window,  where  he 
stood  looking  out  on  to  the  little  garden  with  its  wealth 

23 


354  CASTING    OF    NETS 

of  baiiksia  roses.  In  all  his  career  as  a  priest  he  did 
not  recollect  having  been  confronted  by  so  difficult  a 
problem.  Ho  had  become  strangely  interested  in  this 
English  couple,  and  he  felt  that  he  possessed  the  key  to 
the  psychological  state  of  both  the  husband  and  the   wife. 

*  Your  husband  has  talked  to  nic  —  yes/  he  said  pre- 
sently ;  *  and  you  are  right,  Lady  Redman,  his  indifference 
has  given  place  to  another  state  of  mind.  He  never  was 
really  indifferent.  Many  men  are  like  that.  In  order  to 
escape  from  the  fetters  of  dogmatic  belief,  they  feign  a 
general  scepticism  which  they  are  far  from  feeling.  Some- 
times God  supplies  a  motive  for  belief,  and  their  scepti- 
cism vanishes.  As  I  have  told  you  before,  your  husband 
will  never  be  a  Catholic ;  of  that  I  am  convinced.  Our 
system  is  not  adapted  to  such. as  he.' 

'  But  he  will  have  a  stronger  faith  in  the  teaching  of 
the  Anglican  Church,'  exclaimed  Hilda.  '  It  is  the 
Church  of  his  forefathers,'  she  continued;  Hhe  form  of 
faith  to  which  he  nominally  belongs.  That  is  what  I 
am  longing  for,  Monsignore ;  it  would  make  me  so 
happy,  you  do  not  know  how  happy.  And  then,'  she 
murmured  softly,  as  though  speaking  to  herself,  Svhen 
his  child  comes  it  will  lead  him  nearer  to  the  God  in 
whom  he  already  believes,  and  they  will  be  united.' 

She  rose  from  her  seat,  and  came  towards  the  priest. 

'Monsignore,'  she  continued,  laying  her  hand  upon 
his  arm,  'I  cannot  have  the  child  baptized  a  Catholic. 
Do  you  hear?  —  I  will  not!  They  tell  me  that  I  am 
no  longer  a  Catholic.  I  do  not  know;  but  I  do  know 
that  I  will  not  allow  the  Church  to  separate  my  child 
from  its  father.     I  believe  that,  as  you  said  just  now, 


CASTING    OK     NETS  355 

God  will  siii)[)ly  to  my  husbiuid  ;i  motive  for  iiicrca«iiig 
his  fiiitli.  Can  any  motive  be  strun<^er  than  that  of 
Nature?  And  I  will  further  that  motive  —  if  it  cost  me 
my  own  soul,  I  will  further  it !  You  are  a  priest,  but 
you  are  not  like  the  others  —  you  have  not  allowed  your 
priesthood  to  crush  your  humanity.  Tell  me  if  I  may  do 
this  thing  for  my  husband's  sake.  I  want  your  advice, 
for  I  know  that  you  w  ill  not  deceive  me  as  the  others  did.' 

]\lonsignor  INlartini  turned  towards  her,  and  his  eyes 
shone  with  a  great  compassion. 

'  I  cannot  advise  you,'  he  exclaimed  abruptly.  ^  I  will 
not.     You  should  not  ask  it  of  me,  Lady  Redman.' 

Hilda  drew  back  from  him. 

*I  beg  your  pardon,  Monsignore ! '  she  said  a  little 
bitterly,  '  I  forgot.  Of  course  you  cannot  advise  me  to 
lose  a  soul  to  the  Church.' 

Monsignor  Martini  was  silent  for  a  few  moments. 

*  I  dare  not  advise  you,'  he  said  very  gently,  as  Hilda 
did  not  speak  again.  ^I  can  only  do  my  duty  as  a 
priest  of  the  Roman  Church  by  reminding  you  of  tlie 
claims  of  that  Church.  You  must  seek  counsel  and 
advice  from  a  higher  authority  than  mine  —  from  a 
higher  than  the  Church  herself.  Go  to  God.  He  will 
direct  you,  for  He  is  above  all  Churches.  If  your 
motives  are  good,  He  will  pardon  all  that  there  may  be 
in  your  action  which  is  against  the  tenets  of  a  branch 
of  His  Church.  A  grave  responsibility  lies  upon  you. 
Your  action  must  be  guided  by  your  Maker.  No  priest 
can  counsel  you  truly ;  we  are  all  of  us  fallible  human 
beings,  and  we  are  bound  to  advise  in  the  interests  of 
our  respective  religions.     And  of  all  priests  I  am  the  last 


;^S6  CASTING    OF    NETS 

to  whom  you  should  come  for  advice.  To  me,  all  who 
seek  to  do  Christ's  will,  all  who  strive  to  make  the  world 
a  happier  and  a  better  place,  are  members  of  His  Church. 
You  must  remember  that  because  I  believe  this,  because 
I  have  counselled  conciliation  and  tolerance,  I  am  coldly 
looked  upon  here  in  Rome  —  that  I  am  forbidden  to 
preach  in  the  Roman  diocese.  Therefore,  I  do  not  pre- 
sume to  advise  you  as  a  Catholic  priest,  and  I  tell  you 
frankly  that  my  advice  to  you  would  not  be  such  as  a 
Catholic  priest  could  give,  were  you  to  approach  him 
officially  under  the  seal  of  confession.' 

'  I  know,'  replied  Hilda.  *  I  am  not  likely  to  forget 
what  has  been  said  to  me  by  every  priest  to  whom  I 
have  spoken  on  the  subject  except  yourself,'  and  she 
shuddered  a  little. 

'  Have  you  told  your  husband  that  you  would  not  have 
your  child  brought  up  a  Catholic?'  asked  Monsignor 
Martini. 

'Yes,  I  have  told  him,  and  I  also  told  Mr.  Russell. 
I  think  that  until  the  latter  heard  me  say  so  he  always 
believed  that  I  had  converted  his  wife.' 

*  And  what  did  Lord  Redman  say  ? ' 

'  He  would  not  talk  about  it.  He  told  me  to  consult 
you ;  but  oh,  Monsignore !  the  look  on  his  face  told  me 
better  than  any  words  what  he  thought.  Has  he  spoken 
to  you  about  it  ? ' 

'Yes,'  answered  Monsignor  Martini,  'he  has.  It  is 
his  having  done  so  which  makes  it  so  impossible  for  me 
to  give  you  any  advice  beyond  that  which  I  have  already 
given.  Your  husband  had  a  long  conversation  with  me 
on  the  subject.     It  was  more  iu  the  nature  of  a  confes- 


CASTING    OF    NETS  357 

sion  tluin  ;i  convcr.siitioii,  .-ind  as  siicli  J  regard  it. 
While  failing  tu  i)ersuade  him  ui*  the  truths  of  Catiujli- 
cism,  1  believe  that  1  have  been  the  means  of  lea(lin«r  him 
to  rceognize  some  of  those  truths  whieh  are  eonnnon  to  all 
forms  of  Christianity,  and  I  am  satistied  with  this  result.' 
Hilda  looked  at  him  intently. 

*  Monsignorc/  she  said  earnestly,  '  will  you  answer  me 
one  question  —  not  as  a  priest,  but  as  a  Christian  to  whom 
all  creeds  are  paths  to  the  same  end  ? ' 

'I  will  answer  you  as  such  a  man  would  answer,' 
replied  Monsignor  INIartini  simply. 

'  Do  you  believe  the  knowledge  that  his  children  were 
to  be  Protestants  would  prevent  Walter  from  relapsing 
into  unbelief?  Do  you  believe  that  it  would  be  for  his 
happiucss  here  and  hereafter  ? ' 

The  colour  left  Monsignor  INIartini's  face,  and  he  hesi- 
tated for  a  moment ;  but  it  was  for  a  moment  only,  and 
then  his  eyes  glowed  with  a  strange,  soft  light. 

*  I  believe  that  it  would,'  he  said  solemnly. 

A  sudden  emotion  seemed  to  overpower  Hilda,  and 
she  sank  back  in  her  chair  and  closed  her  eyes.  As  she 
opened  them  Monsignor  Martini  was  watching  her  with 
a  calm,  benevolent  smile  in  his  eyes.  Then  the  recol- 
lection of  those  other  eyes  which  she  had  seen  in  St. 
Peter's  that  morning  —  the  keen,  cold  eyes  of  the  Pope 
—  flashed  across  her,  and  she  closed  her  own  again,  as 
though  to  shut  out  their  penetrating  gaze.  As  she  did 
so  she  thought  that  Monsignor  Martini  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  over  her. 

And  when  she  looked  a«rain  she  was  alone. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

IT  was  summer  again  at  Abbotsbury.  The  corn-fields 
in  the  Trent  Valley  were  ripening  to  harvest,  and  a 
hot,  quivering  haze  hung  over  the  land  and  shrouded 
the  silent  woods. 

Hilda  Redman  was  lying  on  a  couch  which  had  been 
wheeled  beneath  the  shade  of  a  great  lime-tree  standing 
a  few  paces  from  the  house.  Myriads  of  bees  were  at 
their  work  overhead  among  its  blossoms,  and  the  drowsy 
humming  of  their  wings  resounded  in  the  sweet-scented 
air.  It  was  the  season  when  Nature  hides  her  tragedies 
out  of  sight,  when  the  restless  life  of  spring  and  early 
summer  gives  place  to  the  calm  content  of  maturer  days, 
and  to  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  hopes  which  have  been 
realized. 

*  How  happy  everything  is  ! ' 

Hilda  looked  round  her  with  a  little  sigh  which  had 
nothing  but  satisfaction  in  it,  and  then  her  glance  rested 
upon  Walter,  who  was  sitting  near  her,  idly  turning  over 
the  leaves  of  a  book. 

'  And  you  —  you  are  happy  too,  are  you  not  ? '  he 
asked  gently. 

'  Ah,  yes ! '  she  answered,  '  happier  than  I  have  ever 
been  in  all  my  life.  I  think  there  is  nothing  now  that 
can  divide  us  —  you,  me,  and  baby,'  she  added  softly  — 


CASriNG    OK     N  I /J  S 


359 


*  nothing  l)ut  death;  and  ivcii  that  will  not  divi<lc  us 
for  loni;.  ^V(.^  shall  all  lie  to<;cthcr  —  there;'  and  she 
lookeil  aeross  the  lawn  and  over  the  brilliant  (lower-heds 
to  where  the  gray  walls  of  Abbotshury  Ciiureh  nestled 
among  the  trees.  'It  used  to  trouble  nic  so  niueli  — 
that  thought,'  she  eontiinied,  as  if  to  herself. 

'  What  thought,  llihla  '( ' 

'Why,  that  we  should  be  separated  —  in  this  world 
and  in  the  next.  They  used  to  tell  me  so,  Walter;  and 
it  seemed  so  unjust,  so  erucL' 

Walter  Redman  smiled. 

^  It  was  a  lie,'  he  said  to  her ;  '  they  told  you  many 
lies  in  those  days.' 

*  Yes  ;  there  was  only  one  who  ever  told  me  the  truth.' 

'  Ah !  Monsignor  Martini,'  said  Walter.  '  He  is  one 
of  those  men  whose  minds  soar  above  creeds.  A^ou  do 
not  regret  what  you  have  done,  Hilda?'  he  added,  draw- 
ing his  chair  closer  to  his  wife's  couch. 

^Regret  it?  No,'  replied  Hilda.  ^  Tell  me,  W\alter,' 
she  continued,  '  are  you  not  glad  to  feel  that  nobody  can 
come  between  you  and  us  —  baby  and  me?  I  know  that 
you  are,  but  I  like  to  hear  you  say  it.  That  is  foolish 
of  me,  is  it  not  ? '  and  she  smiled  at  him. 

Walter  Redman  leaned  towards  her. 

*  Listen,  dear ! '  he  said.  '  I  never  told  you,  but,  after 
your  confinement  last  year,  the  thought  that  our  child, 
had  it  lived,  must  be  brought  up  a  Roman  Catholic  be- 
came intolerable  to  me.  It  was  not  tlie  Catholic  relij^ion 
wdiich  I  had  learned  to  hate ;  it  was  the  intolerance,  the 
deceit  and  the  dishonesty  of  the  individual  Catholics  by 
whom   you  were   surrounded,  and  who  were   the  cause 


360  CASTING    OF    NETS 

of  so  much  suffering  to  you.  I  was  glad  the  child  was 
born  dead,  and  I  would  rather  have  had  no  son  to  come 
after  me  than  feel  that  those  hypocrites  had  succeeded  in 
getting  hold  of  Abbotsbury.' 

^  Not  my  mother,  Walter ! '  interposed  Hilda  hurriedly. 
'  She  was  not  to  blame.  You  must  remember  that  my 
grandmother  is  an  absolute  fanatic.  My  mother  never 
dared  oppose  her.' 

'  No,'  returned  her  husband ;  *  I  do  not  blame  your 
mother.  It  is  such  converts  as  liady  Merton,  and  those 
who  work  upon  their  superstitions,  who  bring  Catholicism 
into  disrepute  with  all  who  are  liberal-minded,  and  with 
all  who  believe  that  God  is  Himself,  and  not  the  vindic- 
tive human  monster  whicli  many  delight  to  picture  Him.' 

*  They  will  never  forgive  me,  Walter  ! '  said  Hilda,  and 
a  cloud  passed  over  the  sunshine  in  her  face  as  she  spoke. 

He  bent  over  her  tenderly. 

*  Need  you  care  whether  they  do  or  not  ? '  he  asked. 

A  servant  came  towards  them  from  the  house,  bringing 
the  afternoon  post  and  London  newspapers. 

*  Here  is  one  from  Russell,'  said  Walter,  looking  through 
a  small  pile  of  letters  which  were  addressed  to  him.  *  I 
wish  he  would  reconsider  his  determination  to  resign 
the  living/  he  added  as  he  opened  it.  When  he  had 
read  the  letter,  he  passed  it  to  Hilda.  *  Poor  fellow ! ' 
he  said;  ^but  I  dare  say  he  is  right.' 

Mr.  Russell  persisted  in  his  intention  to  retire  from 
Abbotsbury.  He  could  not,  he  wrote  to  Lord  Redman, 
continue  to  be  Rector  of  the  parish  after  his  wife's  seces- 
sion from  the  Church  whose  minister  he  was.  There 
was,  moreover,  another  reason  which  would  make  it  im- 


CASTING    OK     NKTS  361 

possible  for  liiiii  to  rcmiiin  at  Ahbotsbiiry  Rectory.  Lady 
Redman's  decision  to  have  her  newly-born  son  baptized 
a  member  of  the  Church  of  En^dand,  therei)y  practically 
severing  herself  from  the  Roman  communion,  would,  he 
felt  sure,  be  the  cause  of  nuich  bitterness  on  the  part  of 
his  wife,  who  was  very  enthusiastic  in  the  cause  of  her 
new  faith.  He  did  not  intend,  therefore,  to  expose  Lady 
Redman  to  the  unpleasantness  which  could  hardly  fail 
to  occur  between  the  two  houses  should  he  continue  to 
live  at  the  Rectory. 

Hilda  handed  the  letter  back  to  her  husband  \vith  a  sigh. 
'  I  am  sorry,'  she  said,  '  but  I  think  he  is  right.  Mary 
Russell's  presence  here  would  be  disagreeable  for  all  of  us. 
But  what  a  true  gentleman  Mr.  Russell  is,  Walter,'  she 
continued— ^ a  true  gentleman  and  a  true  Christian. 
There  is  not  a  word  of  blame  or  reproach  of  his  wife  in  his 
letter ;  no  complaint  at  being  forced  to  give  up  his  work 
and  his  home.  To  the  last  he  thinks  of  others  before  ''.im- 
self.  How  could  she  do  it?'  she  added  indignantly  — 
*  how  could  she  ?  ' 

Lord  Redman  shrugged  his  shoulders. 
'  My  dear  Hilda  ! '  he  remarked  ;  '  as  Ned  Shirley  says, 
"  Religion  is  a  very  curious  thing."  ' 

'It  is  not  religion,'  exclaimed  Hilda  contemptuously; 
'  the  religion  has  been  all  on  her  husband's  side.' 

The  sun  was  sinking  down  behind  the  woods  of  Red- 
man's Cross ;  the  evening  breeze  came  rippling  over  the 
pastures  and  rustled  through  the  ancient  oaks  of  Abbots- 
bury. 

Hilda  rose  from  the  sofa  upon  which  she  was  still 
obliged  to  pass  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 


362  CASTING    OF    NETS 

*  I  will  walk  a  little  before  going  indoors/  she  said. 

With  Walter  by  her  side  she  crossed  the  garden  to  the 
old  gateway  leading  into  the  churchyard.  The  doors  of 
the  church  stood  open,  and,  as  though  moved  by  a  com- 
mon impulse,  they  entered  the  building.  The  last  rays  of 
the  setting  sun  were  streaming  in  through  the  painted 
windows,  casting  strange  lights  upon  the  still,  marble 
figures  of  the  dead  and  gone  Redmans.  A  solemn  still- 
ness seemed  to  •  possess  the  place,  broken  only  by  the  soft 
notes  of  the  wood-pigeons  in  the  trees  without.  Hilda 
advanced  slowly  till  she  reached  the  altar  rails,  and  there 
she  sank  upon  her  knees  and  prayed. 

A  touch  on  her  hand  roused  her,  and,  raising  her  head, 
she  saw  that  her  husband  was  kneeling  by  her  side. 


THE  END 


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